‘The foot was asleep’ – Rafael Nadal played French Open final with 'no feeling' in left foot after injection

Rafael Nadal revealed to Eurosport his troublesome left foot “was asleep” during his romp to a 14th French Open title and said he needed multiple injections to last the tournament. The Spaniard dropped just six games in dismantling Casper Ruud in Sunday’s final before dampening speculation he was set to retire. Ad/> Nadal has been tormented by a chronic foot injury, which ruled him out of the back end of last season and interrupted his progress this campaign.

Roland-Garros'He's ahead of Roger and Novak now' — Nadal has 'great chance' in GOAT debate28 MINUTES AGO He returned to win the Australian Open and embark on a spotless 20-match winning streak to start 2022, before his preparations for Roland-Garros were derailed by his foot complaint and a debilitating rib injury. But he produced another historic run on the red dirt of Roland-Garros, featuring a late-night thriller with old rival Novak Djokovic, to claim a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam singles title. Speaking after his victory to Eurosport experts Mats Wilander, Tim Henman and Barbara Schett, Nadal admitted that he needed medical support to get through the fortnight in Paris.

“If I didn’t believe, I probably wouldn’t be here,” said Nadal. “It was a big surprise [to be here], unexpected and as everyone knows in the world of tennis, the preparation was not ideal. “I had been off the practice courts for a month and a half with a stress fracture on my rib, and then I had [a problem with my] foot.

It stayed there all the time. In Rome it was difficult, but it’s been amazing… I’ve had my doctor here with me. “We played with no feeling in the foot, with a [pain-killing] injection on the nerve.