Pic: Jaysus, look at the state of Rafa Nadal’s hand after his win today

Not quite in the George O'Connor league but bad enough all the same.

Of all the top tennis pros Rafa Nadal seems to be the one who puts the most strain on his body. The lefty flies into every shot, exerting enormous pressure on his joints and limbs as he aims to put as much power as he can into each return. Over the years he has suffered many injuries, most recently to his knees, but he is now back and playing up to his old superlative standard. The Spaniard made it to the semi-finals of the Australia Open this morning, coming from a set down to beat Grigor Dimitrov but the win came at a cost to his all important left hand. Spanish paper AS published a picture of the damage Nadal's hand suffered during the game and in his post-match press conference the current world No 1 admitted that the injury 'hurt a lot'. Blisters, heat and long matches have added up to cause the damage to his palm and fingers and Nadal will have to find a solution before he faces the even tougher test of either Roger Federer or Andy Murray in the semi-final.