Sports / Tennis

‘Nothing to recover’: Nadal dismisses doubts over foot injury

Rafael Nadal has played down concerns over the chronic foot issue that resurfaced in Rome last week as he prepares to launch his bid for a 14th French Open title.

The Spaniard limped to a third-round loss to Denis Shapovalov at the Italian Open, but practiced in front of thousands of fans at Roland Garros on Wednesday without any obvious discomfort.

“There is nothing to recover,” Nadal told reporters Friday. “What happened in Rome is something that happened very often in my practices.

“I was suffering after that for a couple of days, but I feel better. That’s why I’m here.”

Nadal began the year with a 20-match winning run, capturing a second Australian Open title to claim a record 21st Grand Slam and move ahead of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

The 35-year-old then missed six weeks with a rib injury sustained during his run to the final in Indian Wells, where he suffered his first loss of the season to Taylor Fritz.

Nadal complained of a recurring foot problem in Rome, but he appears confident it can be managed in Paris.

“The pain is there always. It’s not going to disappear now. It’s about if the pain is high and strong enough to allow me to play with real chances or not,” he said.

“It’s something that I live every day with, so it’s nothing new for me and is not a big surprise.

“So I am here just to play tennis and to try to make the best result possible here in Roland Garros. And if I don’t believe that this thing can happen, probably I will not be here.”…

Sports / Tennis

Iga Swiatek beats Azarenka at Italian Open for 25th straight win

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek was tested before pulling out a 6-4, 6-1 victory over former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals on Thursday and extend her winning streak to 25 matches.

Azarenka took a 3-0 lead before Swiatek won five straight games in a grueling first set that lasted 1 hour, 20 minutes.

The defending champion in Rome, Swiatek is attempting to win her fifth straight tournament.

The last player to win more consecutive matches was Serena Williams, who had a streak of 27 in a row over 2014 and 2015.

Swiatek’s run makes her a favorite to win a second French Open when the year’s second Grand Slam gets underway in 10 days.

In a sign of how challenging it was for Swiatek to hold serve on the red clay court at the Foro Italico, she played more than twice as many points with her serve than Azarenka did — 98 to 47.…

Sports / Tennis

Stan Wawrinka relishes ‘special’ challenge against Djokovic in Rome

Three-times major champion Stan Wawrinka said that playing Novak Djokovic is always special but added that he may not quite be ready to face a player of the world number one’s quality following his return from long-term injury.

The 37-year-old, who did not play for an entire year after undergoing two surgeries for a foot injury, battled past Laslo Dere 7-6(8) 3-6 6-4 to set up a 26th career meeting with Djokovic in the last-16 of the Italian Open on Thursday.

“It’s not the best prize, but it’s always special to play against him,” said Wawrinka, who has won his last two matches against the Serbian.

“I’m not where I want to be yet with my game, with my fitness level, with my mental (game). I need those matches, so to have a chance to play against the best player, it’s going to be really difficult for me, that’s for sure.”

Wawrinka’s victory over 14th seed Reilly Opelka in Rome earlier this week was his first in 15 months and the Swiss said he had a long way to go before regaining full fitness.

“I’m not ready to compete I think at that level, but it’s what I need. I need those challenges. I need to push myself as much as I can to keep improving.”

Djokovic, who defeated Aslan Karatsev in his opening match, is looking for his sixth title on the clay in Rome and first this season.…