Nadal frowns against hiding injuries from others

A day after Novak Djokovic declined to speak about the results of his MRI scan the world No.2 Rafael Nadal has keyed into the debate over whether players should be allowed to keep physical problems to themselves.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion made the comments following his win over Fabio Fognini in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Monday. Nadal had been troubled by a back issue in the lead-up to the tournament and admits that it is still a problem for him but it is getting better. The issue forced him to withdraw from the ATP Cup last month.

“It’s difficult to hide things. I think it’s not healthy to hide a lot of things because it’s difficult,” Nadal told reporters in Melbourne.

“I have been more public because we had the ATP Cup just before. Maybe if we didn’t have the ATP Cup before, people will know less, but at some point there’s people here (at the Australian Open) that knows when you are practicing, when you are not practicing.”

“Even if you want to hide, at some point you’re going to have questions to answer. I don’t want to play that game, honestly.”

Nadal’s comment comes amid a debate over a players right to their privacy regarding their physical problems. Victoria Azarenka has said that she doesn’t think players shouldn’t have to disclose their problem to the public if they are asked to.

Meanwhile, there is mystery surrounding Novak Djokovic’s current issue. The former world No.1 initially feared that he had torn a muscle but is still playing in the tournament.

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Following his match against Milos Raonic on Sunday, Djokovic didn’t address his previous reference to a muscle tear and said he doesn’t want to speak publicly about the results of his MRI scan.