Rafael Nadal suffers injury scare as he loses Brisbane thriller after having match points
Rafael Nadal was defeated by Jordan Thompson after having three match points in a three-set marathon at the Brisbane International as an injury issue worryingly appeared to emerge.
The 37-year-old legend fell 7-5, 6-7(6), 3-6 to the world No 55 at the ATP 250 tournament on Friday in a quarter-final thriller which lasted three hours and 24 minutes.
Nadal lost his serve to fall 3-4 behind in the the first set, but broke straight back in the next game, before he broke again as he converted a second set point on Thompson’s serve to take the opener.
The Spaniard had an opportunity to seal victory with Thompson serving at 4-5, 30-40 in the second set, but he crucially missed a backhand overhead into the net.
The second set then went to a tiebreak and Nadal was unable to get over the line after holding a 3-0 double mini-break lead and two match points at 6-4 – with Thompson producing some inspired tennis to level the match.
Thompson converted the only break point of the third set to take a 3-1 lead, before Nadal took a medical timeout and went off court for treatment while trailing 1-4.
The 29-year-old Australian completed a superb comeback as he held firm from 15-30 when serving for the match, including winning the longest rally of the gruelling contest to convert his first match point.
Thompson will face second seed and world No 14 Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-finals in Brisbane on Saturday, with the Bulgarian having impressed in his three wins en route to the last four.
Comeback COMPLETE 🥶@jordanthommmo2 saves 3 match points to defeat Nadal on his return 5-7 7-6 6-3 and reach the last 4 in Brisbane#BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/4r5IMtYCfP
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 5, 2024
In his first two singles matches in his comeback tournament, Nadal saw off Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-1 and Jason Kubler 6-1, 6-2 with strong performances.
In what was a tougher test against a higher-ranked opponent in Thompson, Nadal’s performance was encouraging again – particularly for much of the first two sets.
His physical condition is a concern, though, and the fact he was seen feeling his hip and appeared to indicate to the physio that this was the area that required treatment is a worrying sign.
Prior to Brisbane, Nadal had not competed since losing to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open due to a hip injury. The former world No 1 underwent arthroscopic surgery to treat the psoas muscle in his hip in June last year.
Following his win against Kubler the day prior, Nadal declared that his hip had not been a problem at all in his previous matches and stressed he felt his chronic foot issue was the main area of concern.
“No, I mean, positive thing is first two matches haven’t been a super long matches. Of course, I had some feelings after the first match. I mean, have been a year without playing with the tension of a real match, so I felt a little bit some muscles tired here and there,” the 22-time major winner said.
“In general terms, I felt good, no? Important thing is the surgery on the psoas-iliac and the hip, that’s not bothering me at all. That’s something that is super important for me.
“For the moment, the foot is answering well. That’s for me the main issue, that the foot is problematic, and for the moment I am able to move myself with no limitations. That’s for me makes me feel happy and be able to play better without a doubt.”
Nadal will next hope to compete at the 2024 Australian Open, which will begin on January 14.
