Nadal’s nose bloodied by own racquet at US Open in victory
- The tennis great was moving to his right when he hit a backhand and his racquet deflected off the ground and smacked him on the nose
- Asked during his on-court interview whether he’d ever had that happen before, he mustered a chuckle and replied: ‘With a golf club but not with a tennis racquet’
Rafael Nadal cut himself on the bridge of his nose with his own racquet when it ricocheted off the court on the follow-through from a shot, leaving himself bloodied and dizzy during his second-round victory at the US Open.
Play was delayed for about five minutes during a medical timeout in the fourth set of what would become a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 win against Fabio Fognini at Arthur Ashe Stadium in a match that began Thursday night and finished after midnight on Friday.
It made for a bizarre, and briefly scary, scene, as Nadal immediately grimaced, dropped his racquet, put a palm to his face and then placed both hands on his head. He said at his post-match news conference he thought right away that he might have broken his nose, which kept swelling.
He said it was a “shock” when it happened and he felt “a little bit out of the world.”
Still, Nadal managed to joke about it all. Asked during his on-court interview whether he’d ever had that happen before, he mustered a chuckle and replied: “With a golf club but not with a tennis racquet.”
How was he feeling?
“Well, just a little bit dizzy at the beginning,” said Nadal, who has won four of his 22 grand slam titles at the US Open, most recently in 2019, the last time he entered the hard-court tournament. “A little bit painful.”
The episode came on the first point of the game with Nadal leading 3-0 in the fourth set and clearly in command after ceding the opening set for the second match in a row this week.