Rafael Nadal says he suffered from ‘worrying’ breathing difficulties during his straight-sets defeat by Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells final.
After a shock defeat against Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells final, Spanish ace Rafael Nadal has revealed that he suffered from 'worrying' breathing difficulties during the straight-set loss.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion suffered a 6-3 7-6 (7-5) defeat to the American, ending his 19-game winning streak.
At 4-0 down in the first set, Nadal left the court for treatment and later said he was experiencing difficulties breathing.
Nadal after losing in straight sets..💣🔥"I have problem to breathe. I don't know if it's something on the rib, I don't know yet. When I'm breathing, when I'm moving it's like a needle all the time inside here," If this one blows, serous questions will be asked 👇💣🔥👊 pic.twitter.com/pbWwKOvwKp
— 𝙍𝙄𝙎𝙀𝙈𝙀𝙇𝘽𝙊𝙐𝙍𝙉𝙀 (@risemelbourne)"It's tough for me to breathe. When I try to breathe, it's painful, and it's very uncomfortable,' Nadal said in a post-match press conference.
"When I'm breathing, and when I'm moving, it's like a needle all the time inside here. I get dizzy a little bit because it's painful. It's a kind of pain that limits me a lot. It's not only about pain. I don't feel very well because it affects my breathing," the Spaniard explained.
"Honestly, I am sad because of the way I was not able to compete. The thing that worries me now it's about what's going on there, what I have to do now to recover and how long it's going to take," Nadal concluded.
Fritz became the first American to lift the Indian Wells trophy since Andre Agassi in 2001. An ecstatic Fritz said, "I can't even begin to describe how ridiculous it is to play, how I could play today. I've never experienced worse pain like I did before the match."
"I took a couple of steps and screamed. I was trying to act tough, and we did a lot of work leading up to the match. I was really upset, basically almost crying because I thought I was going to have to pull out," the American added.
"I went through a rollercoaster of emotion and all of a sudden being really happy thinking maybe I can play, but it didn't affect me at all. This is one of those childhood dreams you never even think will come true," he concluded.
After having bagged the Australian Open earlier this year, Nadal will defend his French Open title at Roland-Garros in May.
Meanwhile, fans of the Spaniard took to Twitter to express their concerns over Nadal's well-being. Some questioned if this revelation resulted from Covid-19, and some went a step ahead to warn unvaccinated Novak Djokovic not to take the virus lightly. Here's a look at some of the reactions:
Rafael Nadal says he suffered from breathing difficulties during his straight sets defeat by Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells final. don’t take any covid-19 nonsense
— SENATOR OSHA (@OshaSenator)Vaccination enthusiast, Nadal is having breathing problems
Novac Djokovic is not https://t.co/xgYZJrO62X
Tennis champion Rafael Nadal was “left concerned” after suffering breathing problems during his defeat to Taylor Fritz in Indian Wells.
Nadal is fully vaccinated and recently won the Australian Open.
I hope Nadal will now have a good chat to Djokovic, after suffering breathing problems that felt like painful needles. Needles indeed.
I sincerely hope they will talk… 🎾
Djokovic seems very compassionate.
Nadal having breathing problems too . Djokovic was right it seems and the vaccine is more dangerous to the fittest. https://t.co/PJ3H2r0jsz
— SunwheelSteve (@sunwheelbatley)Rafael Nadal now has chest pains and breathing difficulties.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
If so, it would be justice after the despicable way he treated Novak Djokovic for refusing the 💉💉💉 ⬇️ https://t.co/cDhn3hdi2h
Well, well ...
“When I try to breathe, it’s painful, and it’s very uncomfortable. It’s like a needle all the time inside. I get dizzy a little bit because it’s painful. It’s a kind of pain that limit me a lot” said Nadal
I wonder what Djokovic would sayhttps://t.co/GQshqb7CxM
a ressenti « comme une aiguille au cœur » en fin de match.
« Du mal à respirer »
➡️ Que s’est-il passé ?!
Bon rétablissement ! pic.twitter.com/v2rmd4o4Ub
Dr Yo, did you see Nadal's post final press interview. He 'injured' himself in semi last night but the way he described the injury today - pain like a stabbing needle and trouble breathing is exactly how my daughter's long covid started. 1/2
— Dawn (@DawnInspiration)Vaccine effect on Rafael Nadal...breathing issues, sounds familiar? pic.twitter.com/JwpKou7yTc
— king Keith (@KaConfessor)