US Open, Rafa Nadal confesses, “I thought it was broken.”

Big scare for the Manacor left-hander, who was injured during the fourth set.

An unfortunate incident in the game could have cost Rafa Nadal, winner of the second-round match played on the Italian night against Fabio Fognini, dearly. In the fourth set, with the Iberian leading two sets to one, a diabolical bounce of the racket on the concrete violently hit Nadal’s nose, which began bleeding profusely. Medical intervention was necessary, with the Spaniard visibly in pain and worried even in dialogue with his box.

“At first I thought I had broken my nose, because it hurt a lot. It seems that it’s not broken, but I’m still not sure. It is swelling, however, it is just a blow. I knew I was going to have some problems after the hit I took, but in the end I won that game. The most important thing, in sports, is that when you’re playing bad you should not be too far behind in the score, and when you’re playing good you should try to stretch,” he exorcised.

Returning to the technical apsects of the match, Nadal did not hesitate to call his start of the match “a disaster,” revealing, however, that he managed to keep his confidence level high at all times, “which I never lose, as long as the match is not lost.”

“There was a moment when I was making so many disasters that I couldn’t stop. The pace was much higher than I’m used to, even without very long exchanges. When things get bad, the important thing is not to despair and do the simple things,” the Majorcan champion then concluded.