Rafael Nadal Gets Treatment On Hip During Marathon Loss To Thompson In Brisbane

Rafael Nadal’s left hip could be an problem yet again. The Spaniard played a marathon losing to Jordan Thompson 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-4 in the quarterfinals of Brisbane on Friday night.

Nadal held three match points in the third set with two coming in the breaker when he led 6-4. But after dropping the second, Nadal had to leave the court to get treatment on that surgically repaired left hip down 4-1 in the third.

With Nadal hinting at retirement with the next injury, concern was high about hip.

“I’m tired, or course. Sad in this moment because I had plenty of opportunities,” Nadal said after the three hour, 25 minute affair.

“For sure [the injury was] not the same like last year at all, because when it happened last year, I felt something drastic immediately,” Nadal said. “Today I didn’t feel anything. The only problem is because the place is the same, you are a little bit more scared than usual.

“In ideal world, it’s just the muscle supercharged after a few days of effort and a very tough match. That will be the ideal thing, something that we know that can happen today. That is why I’m talking all the time and my goal is to try to be competitive in a few months.”

“If that is not important, it’s a very positive week.”

Nadal will have a little over a week to get tests done and recovery on the hip before the Australian Open, which is now a Sunday start. Had Nadal won the match, would he have played?

Nadal still takes the positive in that after 11 months, at 37, he won two matches and nearly a third over quality opponents.

“It’s a beginning. I didn’t play a tournament for such a long time,” he said. “Even without playing a tournament, it’s not [like] I am practicing at the highest level for four months. As I said, the last month has been quite good in terms of intensity, but is not a long period of time.”

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