Rafael Nadal after beating Jack Sock in 3-hour battle: "My fitness is fine, I just need to have a little less pain in the foot"

Rafael Nadal registered a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(1) win over Jack Sock in the second round of the 2021 Citi Open on Wednesday. And the match was just as tough as the scoreline suggests; Nadal required more than three hours - 184 minutes to be precise - to see off Sock's challenge.

The Spaniard is now into the third round of the ATP 500 event, where he will face Lloyd Harris. And although he played well for most of the second-round encounter, he was visibly plagued by a foot issue that increasingly hindered his movement as the match progressed.

When asked about that in his post-match press conference, Nadal claimed he was satisfied with his fitness overall but also concerned about the pain in his foot.

"My fitness is fine," Rafael Nadal said. "I just need to be a little bit - I need to have a little bit of less pain in the foot, honestly. That's the true. But physically I feel more or less okay."

Incidentally, the 34-year-old's foot injury is believed to be one of the reasons for his collapse in the fourth set of the Roland Garros semifinal against Novak Djokovic. Many have also speculated that Nadal's decision to withdraw from Wimbledon and the Olympics was partly influenced by the condition of his foot.

WOW-ing in Washington 🤩🇪🇸@RafaelNadal was made to work on his DC debut but gets it done against Sock 6-2 4-6 7-6 in a nighttime epic!#CitiOpen pic.twitter.com/lbfwcMxx1F

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 5, 2021

Rafael Nadal claimed on Wednesday, however, that you need to play long and strenuous matches after a break in order to achieve full fitness. He also pointed out that he is well-versed with the process, given that he has had to experience it numerous times in his career.

At the same time, the Mallorcan also expressed hope of seeing an improvement in his foot soon.

"Of course, you need matches like this to be fitter after a month without competing," Rafael Nadal explained. "But that's part of the process, and I know the process. I went through all this stuff many times on my career. So it's something I am not worried about."

"So is about winning these kind of matches," he added. "That helps you to be better. Then, if I'm able to improve with my foot, I think the rest of the things going to come step by step."

"I started to suffer a little bit too much" - Rafael Nadal on his match against Jack Sock

Jack Sock

Making his debut at the Citi Open, Rafael Nadal started off in blazing fashion and took the opening set 6-2. But as the match progressed, Nadal began to move more gingerly between points; he even seemed to be limping towards the closing stages.

The top seed claimed during his press conference that his level dropped a little in the second set, and that he ended up "suffering" more than necessary.

"The match wasn't easy," Rafael Nadal said. "I think I started more or less well the first set. Then I played a bad game in the second. It's true that when the match was coming, my foot was coming, too. I started to suffer a little bit too much."

Rafael Nadal and Jack Sock finished with the same number of winners (41), but at one point of time, it seemed that the Spaniard would have no answer to the American's big hitting.

EPIC 🤩🤩Nadal and Sock are going the distance in DC tonight…@CitiOpen pic.twitter.com/OpIBoaaaOD

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 5, 2021

Sock led 3-1 in the deciding set, which is when Nadal started unleashing some of his best tennis. The 35-year-old eventually romped home in the ensuing tiebreak, for the loss of just one point.

"Then Jack played some great points," Rafael Nadal added. "I was not able to damage him with my shots and I was not able to come back on the points when he was having the initiative, no? Have been tough. But I finished the match playing better, that's important. I hope to be ready for tomorrow."