Tennis-Nadal hopes to find a foot in the Toronto hard field event

Author: Frank Pingue

LONDON (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal said on Sunday that he had not yet fully recovered from a foot problem that kept him away from Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics, but hopes the US Open tuning event in Toronto will help him regain his confidence. court movements.

Nadal’s first event after his semi-final loss to the French Open ended in shock with a third-round exit in Washington on Thursday, and the Spaniard admitted his left foot arrested him.

“This has been a couple of tough months for me on physical matters,” Nadal, the world’s third number one, told reporters at the Masters 1000 in Toronto, where the first round of operations will begin on Monday.

“I know I’m not on top yet, but I think I’ve practiced better than what I played in Washington, so I’m excited to be able to continue here and be able to play a little better than there.”

Nadal said the recurring foot problem he has been dealing with since 2005 returned to Roland Garros, where he fell in the semi-finals to final champion Novak Djokovic before deciding to sit for two of the biggest events of the year.

“Sometimes the situation is worse and sometimes the situation is better,” Nadal said.

“After Paris, my leg didn’t recover. I had a lot of pain for a couple of weeks, so I couldn’t work out. I stayed for about 20 days without touching the racket, trying to recover.”

Nadal, who is Toronto’s second seed in the throw-in in the first round, said that even if he wanted to taste the victory before leaving from August 30 to September. 12 The main focus of the US Open is on restoring confidence to its feet.

“I need to find positive emotions on my feet again,” said 20-time Grand Slam champion Nadal.

“I really have to have a couple of weeks less pain so I can trust my movements again, knowing I can go out and compete for a long time … that’s what I’m looking for in this tournament.”

(Reported by Frank Pingue in Toronto, edited by Pritha Sarkar)