It Turns Out That The Problem Of Pinggul Back Disrupts Rafael Nadal Ahead Of The 2024 Australia Open

Former world number one Rafael Nadal. (Doc. INSTAGRAM @rafaelnadal)

JAKARTA The hip problem again disturbed Rafael Nadal when he lost in the quarter-finals of Brisbane International against Australian Jordan Thompson.

Nadal failed to convert three match points and finally gave up with a score of 7-5 6-7 (6-8) 3-6 in three hours 26 minutes Saturday, January 6 morning WIB.

The 37-year-old Spaniard had received medical assistance on his third match-fixing set since returning from a nearly one-year absence due to hip problems.

Nadal said the pain in his left hip was in the same place as the injury that required him to undergo surgery in June 2023. However, he hopes that this injury will only be muscle.

"To be honest, I'm not 100% sure of anything right now. Then, in the next few days, let's see how I feel. If I'm not feeling well, then we'll do a test and we'll check it out," Nadal said, quoted by the BBC.

This hip problem is certainly not a good signal for the owner of the 22 Grand Slam titles. The reason is that this happened just nine days before the start of the Australian Open in Melbourne, which he had won twice.

Nadal hopes this issue is not serious so he can return to training and prepare himself for the Grand Slam opening season.

"I feel tired muscles. It's not at all like last year, because when it happened last year, I immediately felt something drastic. Here I don't feel anything," he said.

Nadal reached the quarter-finals after securing victory over Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler earlier this week. Unfortunately, he faces the toughest test against Thompson.

His 33-minute defeat against Thompson was 33 minutes longer than his win over Thiem and Kubler when combined.

Nadal had lost service in the middle of the first set. However, he then managed to secure victory in this set.

The chance to win the game came to Nadal in the second tie-break set. However, Thompson defended to force the match further into determination.