Stefanos Tsitsipas had to go through a shock exit in the French Open which was eventually won by injury-stricken Rafael Nadal who had to take anti-inflammatories, painkillers and injections for around 2 weeks in order to play the Rolland Garros through the pain he had.
All of this created a lot of buzz in the tennis fraternity as a lot of them criticised Nadal for taking injections in course of the tournament and considered it unfair.
Among all the opinions, Tsitsipas has weighed down his opinion on the issue. Stefanos was asked his opinion on Rafael Nadal winning his 14th French Open title while having his foot numb for two weeks.
Stefanos Tsitsipas faced a similar situation such as Rafael Nadal
Stefanos claimed in an interview that he himself faced an issue of a similar extent as Rafael Nadal. He said,
“I also have a little story where I thought I couldn’t play a game because I was in too much pain. But not to the extent that is the case with Rafa, of course.”
“I had a similar situation once at the ATP Finals. I think it was my second group game and I had extreme pain in my leg. Then I got an injection and played one of the best games of my life,”
Tsitsipas from earlier in the week, talking about sightseeing, buying some items…and separately, in the past, when he played with pain.
(From Tennisnet) pic.twitter.com/lHp8hTjMbD
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Rafael explained how they had to block his sensory nerves from a distance, since if his motor nerves had been blocked he couldn’t have moved his foot.
He further said that the effects of the injection were not consistent since he felt a bit more discomfort and less numbness in his toes during the final match of the Rolland Garros and as a result of which he had to control his ankle more.
He further stated,
“I continued to control it enough to be able to compete. You have control of your foot, but there is no sensation. There may be a little more risk of twisting your ankle.”
Rafael Nadal hopes to avoid such an approach in his further tournaments.
He said that he is looking for a much more permanent solution to his chronic foot injury which would let him be more competitive on the upcoming tours.
