Rafael Nadal reportedly practiced indoors at the Australian Open on Thursday, following his physical problems in his second-round match on Wednesday.
Nadal went five sets against Tim Smyczek in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-5 win, and said he experienced tiredness and physical problems during the first three sets. "At the end of the first set, I start to feel my body very bad, very tired. I don't know," he said. "I suffered too much on court for three hours and a half. I was suffering a lot. Too much."
Though he did not indicate he knew exactly what the problem was, Nadal said that what happened was not normal. "Is true that the weather was different today than the last couple of weeks. Very humid. I am sweating a lot always when it's humid," he said. "But, I don't know, long time without competition, with tough conditions, but at the end happened something more. Is obvious, no? I practiced a lot. Should not be that tired after 40 minutes. That's obvious, no? Something happened."
The Spaniard described it as one of his toughest matches in terms of his physical condition, and that he almost could not keep his balance. "I was close to not continue because I felt that I was very dizzy," he said. "[In the] third, fourth, and fifth, I tried to play much more aggressive, without running, no running anymore, and try to go for the winners and play little bit better, play little bit more relax. In terms of physically, at the end of the match I started to felt little bit better."
Nadal's doctor, Dr. Angel Ruiz Cotorro, told Spanish newspaper AS that it began as a stomach problem and led to dehydration. "That was where Rafal began to be ill, and then a little bit of everything, including a dramatic temperature change and humidity, he said. "The gastric problems, pains, and stomach cramps prevented him from replacing fluids."
Nadal said his preparation for the match had been normal, and he did not expect to change anything for his next encounter.