Rafael Nadal takes four seconds too long on the loo
During his toilet break, Rafael Nadal is told via walkie-talkie how much time he has left in the toilet. Nevertheless, the tennis superstar returns to the court too late at the tournament in Brisbane. But Nadal can explain that.
Rafael Nadal is already back in impressive form after his long injury break, but the 37-year-old Spaniard is not completely spared from mishaps on his comeback tour. During his commanding round of 16 victory over Jason Kubler at the ATP tournament in Brisbane, Nadal received a warning - for exceeding the time limit when going to the toilet.
"It was a bit strange, because I knew I only had five minutes," Nadal admitted after his commanding 6:1, 6:2 victory in a humorous interview with the on-court reporter, who nonchalantly asked him about the curious situation: "To be honest, Brisbane is very humid. I had to take off all my clothes individually, that takes a while."
Nevertheless, Nadal, who was repeatedly told the remaining time of the five-minute break via walkie-talkie, thought he had returned on time. In the end, however, his little excursion lasted four seconds too long. "Maybe the guy who was responsible for that announced the times a bit too late," Nadal speculated to laughter from the spectators. "I thought I was on time, but I know I'm slow and I'll try to improve on that in 2024."
For the 22-time Grand Slam tournament winner, the 250 hard-court event in north-east Australia is the first tournament since his dramatic second-round exit at the Australian Open around a year ago. This was the beginning of his long period of suffering due to a hip injury and the renewed doubts as to whether he would continue his career.
"I need matches and I need to stay healthy," said Nadal with a view to the Australian Open in Melbourne, which begins on January 14. "I'm satisfied today," said the Spaniard after his impeccable performance. "Two wins after a long break, that feels very good. I'm very happy," said Nadal, who had also already announced that 2024 will probably be his last season. "I have to keep training well, every win and every hour on court helps me." In Brisbane, he had already impressed in his opening match against former US Open winner Dominic Thiem; Nadal will face Australian Jordan Thompson in the quarter-finals.
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Source: www.ntv.de
