Stefanos Tsitsipas is one of the young players who are expected to take over once the era of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic comes to a close. He will be taking part in this year’s Wimbledon and recently opened up about his take on Rafael Nadal and his injuries.
Stefanos Tsitsipas on Rafa Nadal: “When he says he cannot play and he has foot problems, that’s where I feel like he’s the most threatening in terms of his performance. It’s actually reverse psychology in a way.
“I have a lot of respect for what he did at the French Open.”
— James Gray (@jamesgraysport) June 26, 2022
As per Tsitsipas, Nadal is lethal when he says he cannot play and is suffering from injury. He thinks the opponents underestimate Nadal due to his injury and that is exactly when he plays like a beast. His recent win at the French Open is the best example of that.
Furthermore, the Greek tennis star said, “When he says he cannot play and he has foot problems, that’s where I feel like he’s the most threatening in terms of his performance. It’s actually reverse psychology in a way.” Nadal struggled with his foot injury during the French Open. He underwent treatment for his chronic foot injury to make it to Wimbledon.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is fine with Rafael Nadal taking injections for his foot injury
Rafael Nadal took injections before the gave to reduce the pain from his foot injury. However, there have been debates on whether that should be allowed in tennis. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) made it clear that the injections taken by Nadal were in fact legal.
Tsitsipas chimed in on the debate and said that he was fine with Nadal taking the injections. In fact, he praised Nadal for pulling off a grand slam title even with a foot injury. Furthermore, Tsitsipas said, “I have a lot of respect for what he did at the French Open, playing with that foot.”
As per Tsitsipas, no other player can play at the level of Nadal with the same kind of injury. Moreover, he said, “The matches, the level of intensity he’s able to reach in times where it’s very uncomfortable.” The Greek star is certain that other players would have struggled to play with so many physical challenges.