Nadal gathers strength as injuries strike rivals

Photo from Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) Twitter account

MELBOURNE – For a player who was all doom and gloom about his fitness on the eve of the Australian Open, Rafa Nadal emerged as an unlikely pillar of strength on day eight as injuries cut a swathe through the men’s draw on Monday.

Nadal’s bid for a record 21st Grand Slam crown gathered pace with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 demolition of Fabio Fognini that pushed the Spaniard into his 13th quarterfinal at Melbourne Park.

Sealed with an ace 💥@RafaelNadal advances to the #AusOpen quarterfinals for the 1️⃣3️⃣th time.#AO2021 pic.twitter.com/JoH9B67n8S

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 15, 2021

The lower back strain that forced Nadal to miss the ATP Cup is now disappearing in the rear-view mirror and he heads into his next clash against fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas without having dropped a set.

“The first set without a doubt has been my best level in the tournament,” Nadal told reporters after routing 16th seed Fognini on a sun-bathed afternoon at Rod Laver Arena.

“It’s normal, too, because I was able to practice for two days in a row.

“I’m excited about playing that quarterfinals match.

“If we compare how I was five days ago and how I am today’s situation, it’s different, and my perspective and excitement is completely different, too.”

While Nadal booked his 43rd Grand Slam quarterfinal with two hours and 16 minutes of work against Fognini, Tsitsipas did not lift a racket against ninth seed Matteo Berrettini, who pulled out with an abdominal strain.

Norwegian Casper Ruud’s hopes of a maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal were also undone by an abdominal injury as he retired two sets in against Russian Andrey Rublev.

Players’ fitness at the Grand Slam has been under the microscope after they spent two weeks in mandatory hotel quarantine, with some blaming their exits on limited preparations.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic, who said he had torn an abdominal muscle against Taylor Fritz, has soldiered on and was able to dispatch Milos Raonic on Sunday to book a quarterfinal against Alexander Zverev.

Djokovic was cagey about his injury when probed about it after the Raonic match, saying he did not want to “speculate” and that it was a “gamble” to play on.

Having had his fair share of injuries over the years, Nadal felt there was little point in trying to conceal their true nature.

“Well, it’s difficult to hide things,” he said.

“I think it’s not healthy to hide a lot of things because it’s difficult.

“Even if you want to hide, at some point you’re going to have questions to answer.

“I don’t want to play that game, honestly.”

Although speculation over Djokovic’s fitness will continue to fill the vacuum, Nadal was adamant that no player could grit their teeth and win a Grand Slam if properly injured.

“If you really have physical problems, you will not win,” said the 34-year-old.

“If you have some pain and it’s not putting you in a situation that limits you, the movements, maybe you can find a way.

“But when you really, really have an injury, it’s impossible to win a tournament like this.”