I was reluctant and hesitant to return: Rafael Nadal

TIL Desk Sports/ French Open champion Rafael Nadal has said he nearly ended his season after being forced to withdraw from the Indian Wells semi-finals with a knee injury in March but played through the pain at Roland Garros to clinch a record-extending 12th title. Nadal conceded a walkover to Roger Federer at Indian Wells and skipped the Miami Open before returning to the tour for the clay season, where he lost three semi-finals in a row before winning titles in Rome and Paris.

“Mentally, after Indian Wells, I suffered a major downturn,” the Spaniard told. “I considered shutting down my season to see if my body would recuperate instead of playing through injury after injury. “Another option was to press on and play through the pain. Either way, the outlook was bleak. It required a change of mindset… and that doesn’t happen overnight.

“I was reluctant and hesitant to return. Physically, because of another tendon tear in my knee, and on top of going through all the treatment required in the recovery process, there was dealing with the pain.” The 33-year-old said he had struggled to stay motivated because of the constant pain but had been determined to acquit himself well at Roland Garros.