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Rafael Nadal's run at the Australian Open ended against American Mackenzie McDonald on Wednesday. The Spanish champion, in difficulty since the beginning of the match, suffered a hip/groin injury in the middle of the second set.
The former world number 1 remained stoically on the pitch, but was unable to straighten out the match. The defending champion greeted the tournament to the applause of the Rod Laver Arena and many are wondering if it was his last appearance at Melbourne Park.
The 36-year-old from Manacor has struggled a lot in recent months, also due to the usual physical problems. After tearing his abs at Wimbledon, the Spaniard was no longer able to return to 100% and won very few matches. Through his Twitter profile, Rafa revealed that he suffered a second-degree injury to the iliopsoas.
The Majorcan will have to stay out for 6 to 8 weeks and could return to the pitch directly on clay. Nadal will certainly miss the ATP 500 in Dubai, while his presence in Indian Wells and Miami remains uncertain.
Corretja opens up on Rafa Nadal
"We know that Rafael Nadal is going to try until the end of his career, whatever he feels.
So I don't necessarily feel that he's going to retire after Roland Garros, he's going to go day-by-day. He actually said on Eurosport in Spain something like ‘I'm going to continue until I see that I'm not going to be able to continue playing," he told Eurosport.
"So I don't think it's going to be the end of Rafa after Roland-Garros. Definitely when he's got these injuries it is [a little] step back in his mind and he also needs to recover. But if it's a short one I think it will give him like the hope to get ready again to hopefully have another chance to win another major - which might make a big difference on his career or not.
Because at the end, when you've been winning so much, I don't think we need to count on whether he wins more majors or not," he expressed. Speaking to Eurosport, Nadal acknowledged that he initially had to "accept things" the way they are.
"I'm going to keep fighting . I'm not going to give up anything, it's the beginning of the year, but it's like a boxing match and now I'm knocked out, but I have the calm and tranquility to see things in perspective even though now is a complicated moment", he asserted.