- Hezbollah chief admits 'unprecedented' blow in device blasts
- Sales of US existing homes slip slightly in August
- Fear, panic haunt Lebanese after devices explode
- Labuschagne sparks Australia fightback in England ODI opener
- S.Africa's HIV research power couple says fight goes on
- Why is Israel focusing on border with Lebanon?
- Mpox vaccines administered in Rwanda, first in Africa
- US Fed rate cut is 'very positive sign' for economy: Yellen
- Unknown Mozart string trio discovered in Germany
- 'Are we five-year-olds?' F1 drivers won't mind their language
- Brazil judge orders X to reimpose block or face hefty fine
- Munich to rename stadium street after Beckenbauer
- Champions Italy to face Argentina in Davis Cup Final 8
- The winding, fitful path to weight loss drug Ozempic
- Italians defeat American Magic to reach Louis Vuitton Cup final
- Norris has 'nothing to lose' as he hunts Verstappen in Singapore
- Kyiv 'outraged' at Swiss showing of Russian war film
- French city renames Abbe Pierre square after abuse claims
- Footballer charged after huge cannabis seizure at UK airport
- Vatican recognises Medjugorje shrine, but not Virgin's messages
- Israel bombs Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon after wave of deadly blasts
- Bank of England freezes rate after jumbo US cut
- Playing Nadal is 'kind of a nightmare', says Alcaraz
- Portugal tackles last of deadly northern forest fires
- Ton-up Ashwin lifts India to 339-6 against Bangladesh
- Departing NATO chief warns US against 'isolationism'
- Coming winter 'sternest test yet' for Ukraine energy grid
- Evacuations as tail of Storm Boris floods northeast Italy
- Lebanon's Hezbollah reeling after second wave of deadly blasts
- Taiwan recognises same-sex marriages between Chinese, Taiwanese
- Stock markets rally after jumbo US rate cut
- Gabon's ousted leader Bongo says renouncing politics for good
- Lebanon device blasts: what we know about deadly attacks
- Equity markets rally after jumbo US rate cut
- Late Harrods owner Al-Fayed accused of rape: BBC
- Hong Kong man sentenced 14 months for wearing 'seditious' T-shirt
- Lebanon's Hezbollah in disarray after second wave of deadly blasts
- Equity markets, yen rally after jumbo US rate cut
- Meta and Spotify blast EU decisions on AI
- Hasan takes three as Bangladesh rattle India in first Test
- Two killed during police operation in New Caledonia
- Flood-hit region leaders to meet in Poland to discuss EU aid
- Sri Lanka to vote in first poll since economic collapse
- Hong Kong probe finds Cathay Airbus defect could cause 'extensive' damage
- AI development cannot be left to market whim, UN experts warn
- All Blacks primed for 'hell' of a Wallabies clash
- Japan firm says no longer makes radio reportedly used in Lebanon blasts
- Zoom fatigue? Try some nature in your background: study
- Boeing to start large-scale furloughs with Seattle strike talks stalled
- Japan walkie-talkie maker says investigating after Lebanon blasts
RBGPF | 5.79% | 60.5 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.18% | 25.01 | $ | |
BCC | 3.81% | 142.495 | $ | |
BTI | -0.54% | 37.675 | $ | |
GSK | -1.03% | 41.996 | $ | |
SCS | -7.79% | 13.09 | $ | |
BP | 2.2% | 33.158 | $ | |
RYCEF | 5.48% | 6.93 | $ | |
NGG | -2% | 68.675 | $ | |
RIO | 3.8% | 65.395 | $ | |
JRI | -0.37% | 13.39 | $ | |
VOD | -1.74% | 10.055 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.4% | 25.08 | $ | |
BCE | -0.48% | 35.44 | $ | |
RELX | 1.33% | 48.01 | $ | |
AZN | 0.66% | 79.105 | $ |
Nadal feared he would never play again after foot injury
Rafael Nadal said on Friday that his foot injury last year was so bad he thought he might never play tennis again.
The Spanish great is chasing a men's record 21st Grand Slam at the Australian Open, where he steamed into the fourth round with a four-set victory over Russian 28th seed Karen Khachanov.
Speaking after his 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 victory in a late-night match on Rod Laver Arena, the 35-year-old Spaniard laid bare the extent of the foot problem that ended his year on the tour in August.
Nadal suffers from Mueller-Weiss syndrome, a degenerative disease that causes a deformity of one of the bones in the central part of the foot.
"First of all, everybody around me, me included of course, but everybody around me had a lot of doubts," he said, asked if towards the end of last year he feared he might not make it to Melbourne.
"Not (only) about Australian Open, no, but about coming back on the tour because the foot was bothering a lot of days.
"Of course, still today are doubts because the foot, as I said the other day, it is an injury we cannot fix... so we need to find a way that the pain is under control to play, to keep playing. That's the goal."
Nadal, who has seen the draw open up for him with the deportation of defending champion Novak Djokovic, dropped a set for the first time this week against Khachanov.
But he called it his best performance since returning to the tour at the start of the year.
Nadal will face unseeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in the last 16.
"It's a very special week for me coming back from where I have been, every time I come back here to play is a very special thing," Nadal told the crowd, a nod to his foot issue.
"I had my best match so far without a doubt since I came back.
"I went through some very tough times in the last year and a half, but nights like this mean everything to me, that's a lot of energy in my pocket to keep going, keep fighting every single day."
The big-hitting Russian had no answers for the quality of Nadal's shotmaking in the opening two sets, with the Spaniard looking in sparkling form in the year's first major.
Just when it looked as though Nadal was about to have an early night, Khachanov fought back to take the third set and stop the Spaniard's momentum.
But Nadal bounced back with a break in the fourth set with a laser down-the-line backhand winner which prompted a screaming fist-pumping celebration.
It was all Nadal from there to take the match as he reached the round of 16 in Melbourne for the 15th time. He won the title in 2009.
bur-pst/pi
H.Seidel--BTB