Rafael Nadal was involved in a freak accident during his clash against Fabio Fognini at the US Open that left his nose bloodied on the court. This happened in the fourth set when Nadal, despite being rusty the whole game, was cruising to a hard-fought win.

In the middle of the rally, Nadal almost slipped to his right, and while attempting a backhand stroke, his racquet cannoned off the ground and hit him on his face. The impact cut the bridge of his nose, and he had to take a medical timeout to stop the bleeding.

He returned to the court after a five-minute delay, with a bandaged nose, and finished the game very quickly. When asked if this has ever happened before, the Spaniard joked he got hit with a golf club once, but never with a tennis racquet.

He said he felt a bit dizzy and painful but he was good to go after the medical break. The incident happened when Nadal was leading 3-0 in the fourth set, and he won three out of the next four games to advance to the next round.

Nadal was struggling throughout the game and was willing to concede points rather than engaging in the duel with all his might – a trait that makes him the sturdiest opponent to face. In his own words, the first set which he lost by 6-2, was “one of the worst starts” of his career.

Fognini, meanwhile, will rue the missed opportunities, when he squandered the lead in the next set, which opened the game for Nadal. Both players made too many unforced errors, looked weary, and were always looking to cut short the rally.

With Nadal, it was understandable, since he is coming back after a terrible injury, and he didn’t want to burn himself physically so early in the tournament.

He will now meet his good friend Richard Gasquet, against whom he boasts an 18-0 record. Having started the year with back-to-back majors, Nadal missed out on Wimbledon due to injury, giving a walkover to the eventual finalist Nick Kyrgios in the semi-finals. He is aiming to extend his major tally to 23 by winning the US Open.