A new strategy has emerged in tennis. Claim injury before the match to change the perception of how you play and also add a variable for your opponent to consider. Following the Nadal loss to Fritz at the Indian Wells final, Nadal announced an injury in addition to his bad foot. Fritz followed up with an announcement that he played on a bad ankle despite advice from his coach not to play.
https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/rafael-nadal-to-miss-4-6-weeks-stress-fracture-cracked-rib-roland-garros
The new psychological strategy is to lay blame on injuries for a loss and also claim hero status if you win in spite of one. It also helps to play the wounded animal going into a match to change how your opponent might play you. This Fritz announcement helped neutralize the opposing "why I lost" narrative/positioning so it can't be claimed that it wouldn't have happened but for an injury.
