Former world No. 3 David Ferrer isn’t stressing himself over Rafael Nadal’s setback as he is confident the record 21-time Grand Slam champion nas enough time to recover for the start of the clay season. This week, Nadal announced he suffered a rib stress fracture and revealed he’s expected to be out for four to six weeks.
Ferrer, who was beaten by Nadal in the 2013 French Open final, now serves as the tournament director for an ATP 500 event in Barcelona. The Barcelona Open kicks off on April 18 and it’s hard to imagine that Nadal will be ready for the event.
“I’m relaxed, really. I think Rafa has time to recover before the clay court swing,” Ferrer told AS, as revealed by We Love Tennis.
Nadal was ‘devastated’ after suffering the setback
“Hi everyone, I wanted to let you know that I’m back in Spain and I went straight to see my medical team for tests after the Indian Wells final, which I played in discomfort,” Nadal tweeted in Spanish.
“I have a stress fracture in one of my ribs and I will be out for 4 to 6 weeks. It’s not good news and I didn’t expect this. I am devastated and sad because after such a good start to the season I have had. “Now is a very important time of the year for me and I had a very good feeling and good results.
Well, I have always had that spirit of fighting and overcoming and what I will do is be patient and work hard after my recovery. Once again I would like to thank everyone for their support”. Nadal has enjoyed a great start to the new season as he is 20-1 in 2022.
Nadal didn’t look comfortable during the Indian Wells final as Taylor Fritz claimed an upset win to clinch his first Masters title. Nadal had difficulties breathing against Fritz and underwent testing after the match to reveal what the problem was.
