Rafael Nadal made it to the 2024 Bastad Open quarter-final, but getting there took him a few tumbles and falls.
At this point in the 38-year-old’s career, his fans hold their breath whenever he experiences any kind of physical stress. The Spaniard has a long list of injuries and has missed quite a lot of time on the tennis courts in recent years.
The latest of his surgeries was a hip operation, which is one of the more complicated procedures. People can call themselves very fortunate for walking normally after hip surgery, let alone compete in a sport where lateral movement is vital.
Nadal is, in many ways, very fortunate, and he is the first one to admit that. Being able to be out there on the courts in Bastad is a blessing, and he’s delighted that he can compete at the ATP 250 tournament, which he won 19 years ago.
There is a certain amount of carefulness when it comes to Nadal and his body. This comeback in Bastad is not his first one this year. The first one came in Australia, and it was a pretty short-lived one, as he injured himself after only three matches.
His next comeback attempt came in March ahead of Indian Wells, but another injury setback pushed that back. Then, he was back on clay, and he didn’t injure himself, which allowed him to travel to Bastad.
But whenever he takes a tumble or falls down on the court everybody is holding their breath. That’s what happened a few times this week in Bastad, as he had a pretty nasty fall in his most recent win over Cameron Norrie, but it seems like it didn’t take any toll on his body.
Speaking with the media after the match, Nadal admitted that tumbles are part of clay tennis. He accepts them for what they are, and it seems that his latest fall didn’t cause any additional stress to his body.
“Since I arrived here, the knee, the elbow the back. It’s like the fourth time I am falling on the court. But that’s part of the clay too, and
just accept that.”
There doesn’t seem to be any indication that he won’t play in the semi-final, which suggests that he’s injury-free at the moment. Over time, though, it’s certainly something to watch because it only takes one wrong tumble for him to hurt himself, and with his long list of injuries, it could be the one that sends him into an early retirement.
That’s why Nadal refuses to make any predictions about his future despite all the optimism he shows on the courts. It’s unknown to him, and if he had something better to say, he likely would.
“Lot of things I did well, other things I need to keep improving, of course. But it was a positive victory against a very good opponent. It’s a victory that is important to me. I played already to matches and I will have a chance to be on the court for the quarter-finals again.”
