Rafael Nadal withdraws from Brisbane International due to thigh strain
(January 2, 2019) No. 2 Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Brisbane International due to a thigh strain. Here is part of his withdrawal announcement from his news conference, courtesy of Tennis Australia:
Nadal: “I feel myself good, but after a long period of time without competing, I felt a little bit the leg, the tightening in Abu Dhabi the first match. That’s why I didn’t play the second. So I came here. I did an MRI, and it shows a very small strain on the left thigh, but it’s there. And my feelings are not bad.
“I practice every day. I tried to play and I still wanted to play. But all the recommendations from the doctors, the two doctors from here and the doctors from my confidence in Spain tell me that even if my feeling is better, my feeling is much better today than three days ago, after they analyze the images, they say if I play here, there is a risk, important risk to don’t have the chance to play Melbourne.
“I have been positive. I feel my body better than last year. That’s an accident that happened product of being out of the competition for a while. I have to accept that. I have to be ready to understand that this kind of stuff happens when you’re coming back from injuries. I have to accept and keep going. Of course, it’s very tough for me to be here.
“As I said before, and especially for the tournament, especially for the fans, that this is the second year that they don’t going to have the chance to watch me play here. But no doubt that the person that is more affected and the person that suffers more in this situation is me.”
#BrisbaneTennis | Rafael Nadal's withdrawal press conference https://t.co/QvYROhS8EH
— #BrisbaneTennis (@BrisbaneTennis) January 2, 2019
Statement from Tournament Director, Cameron Pearson.
“We know how disappointed Rafael Nadal is that he has had to withdraw from the Brisbane International and is unable to play in front of the Brisbane fans this year.
Rafa gave himself every opportunity to play and we respect how hard he tried to take the court.
We wish him well for the remainder of the Australian summer of tennis.”
Lucky loser Taro Daniel will take Nadal’s place in the Brisbane International draw and will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round on Thursday.
