"The first set without a doubt has been my best level in the tournament," Nadal told reporters after routing 16th seed Fognini on a sun-bathed afternoon at Rod Laver Arena. [L1N2KL0CV]Norwegian Casper Ruud's hopes of a maiden Grand Slam quarter-final were also undone by an abdominal injury as he retired two sets in against Russian Andrey Rublev. Players' fitness at the Grand Slam has been under the microscope after they spent two weeks in mandatory hotel quarantine, with some blaming their exits on limited preparations. Having had his fair share of injuries over the years, Nadal felt there was little point in trying to conceal their true nature. "But when you really, really have an injury, it's impossible to win a tournament like this."

Source: The Star February 15, 2021 07:34 UTC