Verdasco: I could not bend my elbow

Spain’s Fernando Verdasco did not succeed in securing a spot in the semi-finals of the Belgrade Open.

Slovakia’s Alex Molcan was victorious in straight sets (6:2, 6:0), but it was evident that the Spanish player had been experiencing issues with an injury.

“I could not play due to an elbow injury. I was told a few days ago that this pain was nothing serious, just muscle contractions due to practicing, not a serious injury. It kept getting worse and worse every day, I could not bend my elbow. I could not execute my forehands and serves during warm-ups. It has been hard these past two days, I found it almost impossible to warm up prior to matches. I visited a physiotherapist, I had no idea how I will play at all,” said Verdasco, and then continued:

“I do not know today’s opponent very well, but since he is in the quarterfinals, that means he plays well. He qualified and managed to win two matches. The ranking is unimportant, and if I am not 100 percent ready, victory is impossible. I left the court crushed, and the match lasted an hour. I hurt in silence due to the pain, thinking about it and the possibility of not playing at the Roland Garros all the while. After everything I have been through with my knee injury and feeling so good, that feeling was incredible. I was happy my knee was not hurting, but this injury broke me mentally,” the Spaniard said honestly.

He said he did not want to withdraw because that is not his way, as well as that there is the possibility that he will not play in Paris due to his injury.

“I did not have time to decide, they told me to get on the court. I was burdened with that yesterday. Why did I train for an hour and a half yesterday? I could have been recovering for today’s match, I do not get that. The day before it was considered as nothing serious, and now I may miss the Roland Garros. I gritted my teeth during each point. During my 17-years-long career, I withdrew from matches only a handful of times. I do not like it, it is not easy for me, it does not suit me. I warmed up thinking the pain would go away. He played solidly while I could not play. I missed my forehands, I could not serve hard and it was difficult to play in such a situation. I just want to forget this and see the MRI results. It is sad that I’ll probably miss the Paris tournament. But it happens, I have to stay positive and hope that I will be able to compete again soon,” concluded Verdasco.