Rafael Nadal remarked that retiring from a match is tougher than losing because a player cannot compete when he retires.
Nadal defeated Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata in four sets to begin his quest for a fifth title at Flushing Meadows. The Spaniard has won 19 of his past 20 matches in New York with the most recent trophy coming in 2019 against Medvedev.
Nadal noted in his news conference that he didn't win all three Slams when asked how he felt about not losing a match in the Majors this year:
"Well, yeah, I didn't lose a match, but I didn't win all threeSo ... In some way, yeah, was even tougher. Retiring is, in my opinion, much tougher than lose. That's the thing, no? The sports is about winning or losing, not about retiring. When you retire, you can't compete. The feeling is much worse than losing a match, no?"
"In some way it's (injuries) part of my tennis career, too-In the other hand, of course I'm having an amazing year in terms of results, but at the same time a tough year because I went through the foot, the rib, stress fracture on the rib, then the tear in the abdominal." added Nadal on his own injury problems this year.
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