Rafael Nadal’s French Open hopes appear to be hanging by a thread after the Spaniard injured a foot in his third-round loss to Denis Shapovalov at the Italian Open.
The 21-time grand slam champion was in obvious discomfort as he was bundled out of the clay court tournament by the Canadian, 1-6 7-5 6-2.
At one point, the 35-year-old walked over and leaned on his towel box and grimaced in pain. He also limped between points.
They were particularly concerning scenes for Nadal and his legion of fans, especially with the Spaniard’s favourite grand slam beginning at Roland Garros in just 10 days.
Nadal missed a large portion of last year with a left foot injury.
“I hurt my foot again with a lot of pain,” Nadal revealed after the match.
“I’m a player living with an injury. It’s nothing new. It’s something that is there, unfortunately. Day by day is difficult.
“Lots of days I can’t practise with the proper way again.”
