Rafael Nadal collapsed on the floor of the main interview room with cramp, an hour after going through to the fourth round of the US Open with a straight-sets win over David Nalbandian that lasted two hours and 39 minutes in searing midday heat.
The world No2 had finished answering questions from Spanish journalists when he grabbed at his right leg and slid slowly back in his chair to stretch out, grimacing in pain. He grabbed at his leg, called for water as concerned officials gathered round and sat for several minutes on the ground, where he received treatment. His leg was massaged and he was given ice and fluids before being helped to his feet.
"I just have cramping in my leg," Nadal said, sounding a little short-tempered when officials asked him to make a statement on his condition. "That's all. There are no questions. I already finished my press conference in English. I talked half an hour. I just have cramping in front and behind. That's why it was so painful. That's all.
"It's just bad luck that it happened in public. It was really hot, I ran a lot and you sweat a lot in these conditions."
It was a worrying moment, given the Spaniard has not been able to prepare for this final slam of the summer the way he would have liked since injuring his foot after Wimbledon.
For the first week of this tournament, Nadal had not looked like a defending title‑holder. And at moments early and late in his third round match on Sunday against the talented but fragile Nalbandian, he did little to belie the impression that he was struggling to find his game, that the weight of injury and indifferent form was eating away at his soul. When it mattered, though, Nadal exploded into life like the champion he is to blow Nalbandian out of the tournament.
He won 7-6, 6-1, 7-5 and, for the most part, performed to a high level of intensity, certainly better than he did in three close sets against the unseeded Kazak Andrey Golubev in the first round, and there was little to learn from his second‑round retirement win over Nicolas Mahut.
"He's a great player," the winner said of the vanquished, a friend and some‑time hitting partner. "I'm happy to see him back on court after his injuries. The key to the match was the first set when I came back from 5-4 when he was serving for the set."
That set took an hour and two minutes, the second flashed by in 27 minutes and the third turned into a grind over an hour and 10 minutes, as the temperature rose, literally and metaphorically.
On Tuesday Nadal plays Gilles Müller of Luxembourg, who beat the Russian Igor Kunitsyn 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Müller, ranked 68 in the world, was the backbone of his country's Davis Cup near-whitewash by Great Britain in Glasgow in July, but has not mixed in this company at a major for a little while. "I will just rest now," Nadal said on court before returning to the locker room. "Every day gets tougher."
The four times they have met, Nalbandian has taken the first set off Nadal. That is a spooky stat. The Argentinian went on to win the first two matches, four years ago, dropping just seven games in all; the Spaniard prevailed in Barcelona in 2009 and last year in Miami. The Argentinian was living on memories.
On Sunday, in his first meeting in a major with Nalbandian, Nadal came back from a break down in a tight first set to take the tie-break. Nalbandian, who served for the set at 5-4, must have known then he had blown it. Nadal does not hand out those opportunities often.
What a curious player Nalbandian is. There are not many on the circuit with his talent yet he continuously under-performs. Injury has had much to do with this but he does not give the impression he is prepared to make the sacrifices others do to maximise his gifts, and there could hardly have been a starker contrast in application than that on show here. Nadal has gone through more physical hell than Nalbandian (and has more talent) to drive himself on when others might falter.
When he served two double faults to drop serve at the start of the second set, Nalbandian's resolve was put under further strain, and the sense of a Nadal onslaught was palpable. When he broke him again, a one-sided beating seemed more probable than possible.
By the time Nalbandian had fallen four games behind in the set, Nadal was moving so ruthlessly through the points it felt like the right thing to do to feel sorry for the Argentinian. He showed flashes of his genius, going punch for punch with the gutsiest player in tennis, but he could not sustain the challenge in the glare of the big stage.
This is Labor Day weekend in America and Arthur Ashe Court at Flushing Meadows is the biggest stage in their tennis calendar. Nadal relished it. Nalbandian did not. It was too big for him, too momentous. It was as if he thought he did not deserve to be here. A couple of weeks ago in Cincinnati he had a similar experience against Andy Murray, playing with brio at the start before resigning himself to his fate as sparring partner.
Pinned further behind the baseline than he wanted to be, Nalbandian could only soak up the power of Nadal's shots. When he hit long under no pressure to give up the second set, it did not seem likely he could regroup for the third – but he did. Briefly.
A time warning during his opening service game of the third set seemed to unsettle Nadal and Nalbandian broke. And then a rarity: Nadal, serving for the match, was broken again. Nalbandian was energised but he could not sustain it. If it was anyone but Nadal on the other side of the net, he might have done. Rafa is back.