Express Sport readers are concerned Rafael Nadal may have played in his last ever Australian Open match after his emotional early exit at Melbourne Park. Defending champion Nadal crashed out at the second round stage in a shock defeat to American Mackenzie McDonald.
And the left hip problem that severely hampered him in the tournament has led to suggestions that the legendary Spaniard is closing in on retirement. Top seed Nadal said he was ‘mentally destroyed’ after his earliest Aussie Open exit since 2016.
An MRI scan in Melbourne showed that Nadal suffered a grade two iliopsoas tear in his hip flexor that would leave him sidelined for six to eight weeks. And he then travelled to Barcelona for further medical assessment, where it has been confirmed that he will be out of action for around two months.
“Today I have been at the Clínica Tenis Teknon in Barcelona where they have carried out some tests on me,” Nadal wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “The Melbourne results are confirmed and the deadlines remain the same.
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Nadal could now focus his season on targeting a record-extending 15th French Open title at Roland Garros in June ahead of a possible swansong. And three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker agrees with the majority of Express readers that Nadal’s ‘days are numbered’.
“The question was: Will he play until he’s 40? I don’t think so,” Becker told Eurosport. “An injury like that is hard, and at this age, it takes even longer to get back into shape.
“I hope and pray that he will get well soon and that we will see him looking fresh again in Paris at the latest, but I think his days are numbered. He is not only a tennis legend, he is a sports legend. He is one of the most important sportsmen of the last 25 years.”
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