"He's suffering but has ability to endure pain and win" - Muguruza on Nadal

Garbine Muguruza has praised her compatriot Rafael Nadal for his ability to endure pain and still play well, winning trophies.

It is a long-known fact that 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal has been playing with ongoing injuries and, therefore, pain for a while now.

However, the great champion he is means that he has so far found ways around or through it so that he can continue competing at the highest level, challenging his much younger rivals on the ATP Tour despite getting dangerously close to his 40s.

For example, in this year's Roland Garros final, which the Spaniard ended up winning to claim his 14th title in Paris, he later admitted that due to injections, he played the final match against Casper Ruud with a numb foot.

It is precisely this attitude that has earned him the status of one of the toughest around on tour. And that is certainly something that does not go unnoticed amongst fellow competitors.

Someone who has understood the sacrifices and, therefore, the grit, determination, and talent that the man from Manacor has is fellow Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, who reached the World No. 1 rank on the WTA Tour.

Speaking in a recent interview, Muguruza made sure to give Nadal credit for his dedication to the sport as well as his ability to endure pain and still carry on playing.

Unfortunately for Nadal, it was impossible to do so at Wimbledon with a pretty significant abdominal tear that he fought through against Taylor Fritz.

He could not continue playing, though, so he opted to withdraw ahead of the semi-final match against Nick Kyrgios. Even with everything, Nadal is human, after all.

Read also

"You never know how close you are to the end" - Murray