Australian Open 2023: Rafael Nadal 'mentally destroyed' after second-round exit

Nadal was trailing by a acceptable and a interruption erstwhile helium pulled up with an wounded to his near hip

Injured Rafael Nadal says helium is "mentally destroyed" aft his Australian Open rubric defence came to an extremity successful the 2nd round.

The 36-year-old said helium was carrying the wounded earlier the lucifer but the symptom had been "nothing similar today".

"I truly anticipation that it doesn't enactment maine retired of the tribunal for a agelong time," Nadal said.

"It's not lone the recovery. It's each the magnitude of enactment that you request to enactment unneurotic to travel backmost astatine a decent level.

"I went done this process excessively galore times successful my career, and I americium acceptable to support doing it. I think, but that's not easy."

Speaking astatine his post-match quality conference, 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal said helium felt helium "cannot move" aft his earliest exit astatine a Grand Slam since the 2016 Australian Open, erstwhile helium was eliminated successful the archetypal round.

"[I] conscionable can't accidental that I americium not destroyed mentally astatine this time, due to the fact that I volition beryllium lying," helium said.

"Hopefully, it is thing excessively bad. In the extremity [there] person been 3 affirmative weeks successful presumption of practice."

Nadal was trailing by a acceptable and a interruption erstwhile helium pulled up with the injury, taking a aesculapian timeout towards the extremity of the 2nd acceptable earlier continuing.

He said helium had considered stopping "all the time" but "didn't privation to permission the tribunal with a retirement".

"Just effort your champion until the end," added Nadal, who won his 2nd Melbourne rubric 12 months ago. "It doesn't substance the chances that you have. That's the doctrine of the sport.

"That's the essence of the athletics by itself. I tried to travel that during each my tennis career, and I tried of people to not summation the damage, due to the fact that I didn't cognize what's going on."

This is the latest successful a bid of carnal problems for Nadal, who admitted helium had nary feeling successful his near ft during his triumph astatine the French Open past twelvemonth due to the fact that of painkilling injections for the chronic injury.

He besides withdrew from his Wimbledon semi-final past twelvemonth with an abdominal wounded helium picked up successful the erstwhile match, and the aforesaid wounded past hampered him astatine the US Open, wherever helium suffered a fourth-round exit against Frances Tiafoe and appeared to injure his rib.

He said it was his emotion of the athletics that keeps him going amid the wounded setbacks.

"It's a precise elemental thing: I similar what I do," helium said. "I similar playing tennis. I cognize it's not forever. I similar to consciousness myself competitive. I similar to combat for the things that I person been warring for astir fractional of my beingness oregon adjacent more.

"When you bash things that you similar to do, astatine the extremity of the day, it's not a sacrifice.

"Sacrifice is erstwhile you are doing things that you don't privation to do. And that was not my case. But of people it's tiring and frustrating to [spend] a batch of my tennis vocation connected recovering process and trying to combat against each this worldly each the time.

"But I judge it rather good during each my tennis career, and I was capable to negociate it well. But of people [the] past 7 months person been, again, different pugnacious play of time. I don't cognize what tin hap successful the future."

• Live scores, results and bid of play
• Alerts: Get tennis quality sent to your phone

• Friends Will Be Friends: Stanley Tucci and his champion person speech astir their emotion of nutrient and art
• All fired up and acceptable for business: Hopeful entrepreneurs participate the Dragons' Den...