Rafael Nadal lauds life-changing treatment for foot condition
Rafael Nadal says he was close to retiring before Wimbledon
Rafael Nadal says that the treatment he has received for Mueller-Weiss disease has proven to be life-changing.
Nadal has credited the treatment with restoring his enjoyment of life let alone tennis.
The chronic pain left Nadal miserable but the treatment has come just in time for the new father.
"Now I am much happier, beyond winning or losing on the court, because I was suffering from a limp," Nadal explained in an interview with MARCA.
"I played tennis with lots and lots of anti-inflammatories but I was limping all day long. I thought I had to quit tennis because I had lost my vitality and I was a sad person most days.
"After winning at Roland Garros I was happy but at the same time I thought I was going to have to retire if a solution was not found for my foot because I could not continue with those chronic pains."
Nadal admitted that the second half of his season was blighted by twin abdominal injuries but feels that he has still banked an excellent season.
"In that scenario I rupture my abdominal - retire and do not play in the semifinals against Nick Kyrgios - and from then on the year has been a disaster, because I ruptured my abdominal again the week before the US Open.
"I didn't I wanted to say anything at the time because I was tired of telling sorrows! Then I had to recover again and then my son was born, so it was difficult to get to the last stage of the season with optimal preparation.
"Although, when I look back on this year, the difficult moments and the injuries will fade into the background and I will have won two Grand Slam titles, so the final balance is fantastic and very exciting, although also very painful. That''s the reality."
Nadal explained why it is that the fierce rivals of the big three are also close to one another.
He feels that each owes the other a measure of their success rather than each being a detractor from the achievements of the others.
"It is true that I am Federer's first great rival so I understand that he sees it this way," he explained.
"Then, when Novak arrives, it's true that Federer is still better than me but in later years I win more than Roger, so I've also met Djokovic more times on court. In other words, I've been more of a rival to him than Roger. In the end I see it as something positive because it is true that between the three of us, we have taken a lot away but I don't think any of them would have reached 35 years of age or more while being that competitive without the other two.
"Federer, Djokovic and I have pushed ourselves to the limit, to improve, to always be wanting more."
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