What would the right way be to mention an injury, especially after a loss

[Bobby Jr]

Originally Posted by veroniquem

Personally, I'd rather C, although most players are reluctant to do it because then, they get targeted for " excuse making". Ideally, the best thing would be: honesty above all and screw what other people think.

True. No other fashion of mentioning it goes without criticism from the cheap seats (or, in Nadal's case, the expensive seats too). These guys can't win so may as well get it over and done with.

Sure, Federer has mentioned his niggles before during press conferences in what seemed like an undignified manner but (after the Wimbledon loss to Berdych for example) he handled it about as well as he could and it was done after that. Nadal, by contrast, reinvents history by talking about it 6 months later as if it was the only/primary reason he lost - it shows a lack of thoughtfulness or maturity on his part, a single-minded attitude which is obvious in all aspects of his tennis. It's what makes him so successful but is also what makes people dislike him.

The way Nadal acts during matches - in particular the timing of his medical time-outs - is poor sportsmanship. He does himself no favours in that he lacks the self-awareness to change (or, worse, he simply doesn't care what others think of him - a trait which made Michael Schumacher one of the most loathed sportspersons on earth). I'd like to think it was just something he did early in his career but his quirks (his OCD stuff etc) have not abated one bit - if anything they're increasing.