Fabio Fognini accuses Rafael Nadal of faking an injury at 2022 Wimbledon
ATP
Fabio Fognini suggested that Rafael Nadal might be faking his injury at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
Nadal fought for four hours and 20 minutes to defeat Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. It was an exhausting battle for the Spaniard, who lost the first set 3-6, and he was also down two sets to one.
But despite struggling with an injury, Nadal won the last two sets of the match to beat Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(4), setting up a semi-final meeting with Nick Kyrgios.
During the match, Nadal was told to retire by his dad and sister, who were sitting in his box. Despite the calls from his team, the 22-time Grand Slam champion continued playing, and he eventually ended the match standing up. Not only that, he won it.
After the match, the 22-time Grand Slam champion confirmed that the family didn't want him to play and also raised some doubts about his semi-final participation.
However, despite Nadal's confrontation with the doctor and visible struggles, fellow ATP player Fabio Fognini doubted the Spanish legend's injury.
After the match, Fognini shared a news story that stated that Nadal won the match with an injury. In response to that, the Italian player urged his followers not to "believe what they read."
"For sure. Guys, stop believing in what you read, please."
It's certainly interesting to see a fellow pro doubt Nadal's injury. Fognini must know himself how challenging it is to compete at the peak level, and how an injury can derail someone's dreams.
At the same time, his comments might be related also to a previous disagreement that the two had. The two met a total of 17 times on the ATP Tour, and Nadal won 13 of those meetings.
But their most heated clash was the 2015 Hamburg Open final. It came after Fognini beat Nadal in both of their meetings that year. He first bested him on clay in Rio de Janeiro, and then also in Barcelona. In Hamburg, however, Nadal won the final match 7-5, 7-5.
But it was mostly their mid-match disagreement that was the main talking point after the final. At one point, Fognini started angrily talking towards Nadal, who was on the receiving end of some words.
After the Italian said what he wanted to say, Nadal added a short remark, when he said: "And then in the locker room: 'Hi. Hi. Everything is fine.'" Maybe also this previous disagreement shaped Fognini's opinion on Nadal's struggles.
