Nadal overcomes freak self-inflicted injury at US Open

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 01: Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Fabio Fognini of Italy during their Men’s Singles Second Round match on Day Four of the 2022 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 01, 2022 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Julian Finney/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by JULIAN FINNEY / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Rafael Nadal overcame a freak injury scare when he accidentally hit himself with his own racquet to reach the US Open third round on Thursday.

The Spaniard defeated Italy’s Fabio Fognini 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 but only after suffering a bizarre self-inflicted injury when leading 3-0 in the fourth set.

The four-time champion, and holder of a men’s record 22 Grand Slam titles, was hurt when his racquet bounced back off the court as he stretched for a ball, hitting him squarely on the nose.

The 36-year-old dropped his racquet to the Arthur Ashe Stadium floor and sprinted to the sidelines, where he lay on his back with his nose bloodied.

The Australian and French Open champion required a medical timeout to have the wound tended before resuming the match with a bandage across the bridge of his nose.

It was the third time in the match that the trainer had been summoned onto court.

“I was a little bit dizzy and it was a little bit painful,” admitted Nadal, who said he had suffered a similar injury in the past caused by a golf club.

He feared he had broken his nose in the incident.

Nadal said that despite being a set and 4-2 down, he was happy to have recovered after coming into the tournament still worried by the abdominal injury he suffered at Wimbledon.

That problem caused him to forfeit his semi-final at the All England