‘Destroyed mentally’ – injured Nadal’s career may be over after devastating Australian Open loss

Rafael Nadal may be done for good. He is tired, frustrated, uncertain if his career can continue. ‘Destroyed mentally,’ he says.

Rafael Nadal with the medical trainer after injuring his leg. Picture: Michael Klein

Rafael Nadal is injured and his wife is in tears. His coach is crestfallen and he is out of the Australian Open.

He is tired, frustrated, uncertain if his career can continue.

“Destroyed mentally,” he says.

The 22-time major champion’s hip flexor problem precipitated a shock 6-4 6-4 7-5 loss to American Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open on Wednesday.

His career has been littered with lengthy rehabilitations from countless physical ailments. The disconsolate 36-year-old said he was unsure if another recovery was possible. Or worth it.

“It’s tiring and frustrating,” he said. “A lot of my tennis career on the recovery process and trying to fight against all this stuff all the time. I accept it quite well during all my tennis career. I was able to manage it well.

“But, of course, the last seven months have been, again, another tough period of time. That’s it. I don’t know what can happen in the future but I need to avoid again a long period of time outside. If not, it’s tough.

“If I have been seven months playing almost nothing, and then if I have to spend a long time again, then it’s super difficult in the end to be in rhythm and to be competitive and to be ready for the fight for the things that I really want to fight for. Let’s see how the injury is.”

Nadal’s wife, Maria Francisca Perello, dabbed tears from her eyes as the 22-time major cham­pion hobbled through the final set. His mentor, Carlos Moya, was heartbroken.

Nadal denied comebacks ­involved sacrifice.

“It‘s a very simple thing – I like what I do,” he said.

“I like playing tennis. I know it’s not forever. I like to feel myself competitive. I like to fight for the things that I have been fighting for almost half of my life or even more. And that’s it. It’s not that complicated to understand, no? The sacrifice word is not like this. When you do things that you like to do, at the end of the day, it’s not a sacrifice. You are doing the things that you want to do. Sacrifice is when you are doing things that you don’t want to do. That is not my case.”

Best-case scenario? He’ll ­defend his French Open title in May. Worst? He’s done.

“I don’t need to talk and explain the feelings,” he said.

“It was not the right moment to have something like this now. Sometimes it’s frustrating. Sometimes it’s difficult to accept. Sometimes you feel super-tired about all this stuff in terms of injuries.

“Can’t come here and say, lying, that the life is fantastic and staying positive and keep fighting. Not now. Tomorrow starts another day. Now it’s a tough moment. It’s a tough day, and you need to ­accept that, and keep going.

“You know, in the end, I can’t complain about my life at all. In terms of sports and in terms of ­injuries and tough moments, I mean, that’s another one. Just can’t say that I am not destroyed mentally at this time.”

Nadal trailed 4-6 3-5 when he required treatment. He played until the bitter end. It was a lost cause. He was unable to serve properly, to move properly, to hit forehands properly, to do anything properly. He made a decent fist of the third set but, really, he was doomed from the moment he was injured.

On whether he asked his team about quitting the match, he said: “I didn’t ask them. I am old enough to take my own ­decisions. I didn’t want to retire, to be defending champion here. I didn’t want to leave the court with a retirement.

“Better like this at the end. I lost. Nothing to say. Congratulate the opponent. That’s the sport, at the same time. Just try your best till the end. Doesn’t matter the chances that you have. That’s the philosophy of the sport.

“That’s the essence of the sport by itself. I tried to follow that during all my tennis career. I tried of course to not increase the damage but I don’t know what’s going on. If it’s muscle, if it’s joint. Now I feel I cannot move. I tried. Was not possible.”

McDonald was full of praise for his vanquished rival.

“It was pretty tough to stay mentally engaged but I found a way to just pull it out,” he said.

“He’s an incredible champion, he’s never going to give up regardless of the situation. I was trying to stay focused on what I was trying to do and he kind of got me out of my rhythm, and I just got through it.”

Nadal created history last year with his five-set victory over ­Daniil Medvedev in the final.

It saw him claim ownership of the record for most grand slam men’s singles titles on 21, ahead of Djokovic and Roger Federer.

He added a 22nd at Roland Garros, while Djokovic won Wimbledon to move on to 21.