Nadal the hero:Rafael Nadal overcomes hitting himself in face with own racket to…..see full details
Rafael Nadal overcame accidentally hitting himself in the face with his own racket to beat Fabio Fognini in the US Open second round.
The 36-year-old had to battle back from a slow start to beat Fognini over four sets 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-1 on Thursday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Nadal the hero:Rafael Nadal overcomes hitting himself in face with own racket to…..see full details
But the victory came with a scary moment in what was to be the final set, one which left the 22-time grand slam champion bloodied.
As the Spaniard stretched to return a backhand to Fognini, Nadal’s racket bounced off the court and inadvertently hit him in the face.
Nadal immediately clutched his nose, dropping his racket and forfeiting the point. He lay down on the court by the umpire’s chair and moved his hand away from his nose, showing the blood which had begun to flow.
He needed a medical timeout to receive attention for the injury, later returning to close out the set. After the victory, Nadal played down the injury, saying he felt a “little bit pain, honestly, but good.”
(It) was just a strong hit. At the beginning, I thought I (broke) the nose because it was a shock at the beginning. Was very painful,” Nadal explained.
“I lost little bit the — I don’t know how to say in English — but a little bit the feeling of my head. It’s about being a little bit out of the world.
READ MORE:So sad:Rafael Nadal suffers a freak accident at the US Open as he hits himself in the face with ….see full story and fans hot reactions
“I don’t know, seems like it’s not (broke). I am not sure yet. I don’t know. I think it’s getting bigger and bigger.”
He joked with a smile: “No, that’s just a shock some way I deserved to play that bad for a while!”
As well as coming back from a bloodied nose, Nadal also had to battle back from a rare poor start.
Nadal the hero:Rafael Nadal overcomes hitting himself in face with own racket to…..see full details
Rafael Nadal overcame accidentally hitting himself in the face with his own racket to beat Fabio Fognini in the US Open second round.
The 36-year-old had to battle back from a slow start to beat Fognini over four sets 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-1 on Thursday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Nadal the hero:Rafael Nadal overcomes hitting himself in face with own racket to…..see full details
But the victory came with a scary moment in what was to be the final set, one which left the 22-time grand slam champion bloodied.
As the Spaniard stretched to return a backhand to Fognini, Nadal’s racket bounced off the court and inadvertently hit him in the face.
Nadal immediately clutched his nose, dropping his racket and forfeiting the point. He lay down on the court by the umpire’s chair and moved his hand away from his nose, showing the blood which had begun to flow.
He needed a medical timeout to receive attention for the injury, later returning to close out the set. After the victory, Nadal played down the injury, saying he felt a “little bit pain, honestly, but good.”
(It) was just a strong hit. At the beginning, I thought I (broke) the nose because it was a shock at the beginning. Was very painful,” Nadal explained.
“I lost little bit the — I don’t know how to say in English — but a little bit the feeling of my head. It’s about being a little bit out of the world.
READ MORE:So sad:Rafael Nadal suffers a freak accident at the US Open as he hits himself in the face with ….see full story and fans hot reactions
“I don’t know, seems like it’s not (broke). I am not sure yet. I don’t know. I think it’s getting bigger and bigger.”
He joked with a smile: “No, that’s just a shock some way I deserved to play that bad for a while!”
As well as coming back from a bloodied nose, Nadal also had to battle back from a rare poor start.
