‘OUR SITUATIONS ARE DIFFERENT’ – ANDY MURRAY ON RAFAEL NADAL PLAYING THROUGH PAIN TO TRIUMPH AT FRENCH OPEN

“[My motivation] comes from enjoying the sport, loving the sport. My situation is a bit different to his, with the operation that I had,” Andy Murray told the ATP’s official website when comparing his situation with that of Rafael Nadal, who is fresh off winning his 14th French Open title and 22nd Grand Slam singles crown, despite having to play through a foot injury.

Andy Murray has shared his thoughts on how Rafael Nadal played through pain to triumph at the French Open and the differences between their situations.

Nadal has twice defied a chronic foot problem in 2022 to win the Australian Open and then the French Open, while he also suffered a stress fracture in his rib prior to Roland-Garros.

As he pursued a record-extending 14th title in Paris, whispers spread that he was set to retire after the tournament. Instead, after winning his 22nd Grand Slam with an “asleep” left foot, he vowed to “keep fighting” and laid out his ambitions to play at Wimbledon and the US Open.

He underwent treatment on the affected nerves in his foot on Tuesday, with the Spaniard’s medical team hoping he can return to the court as early as this weekend. He is recovering in Mallorca and was spotted on crutches getting out of a car on Wednesday.

Murray, meanwhile, has undergone two hip operations, and he admitted that his motivation for continuing to play is different to Nadal’s and conceded that their situations are “very different”.

“[My motivation] comes from enjoying the sport, loving the sport. My situation is a bit different to his, with the operation that I had,” Murray told the ATP’s official website.

“I believe he is playing to try and break records and win the major events. Absolutely, you have to love it and be willing to play through some pain as you become an older athlete, but I think it is easier to play through the pain when you are competing for major titles.

“For me, the past four or five years have been very different to that, playing Challengers and my ranking dropped. I feel like our situations are different, but ultimately the reasons I am still playing are because I love the game and because I still think I can compete right at the highest level.”