Following news of hospitalization, Rafael Nadal confirms wife Maria Francisca Perello is not in any danger

Rafael Nadal has confirmed that his wife Maria Francisca Perello is fine and doing well after news of her hospitalization broke a few days ago.

Initial reports stated that his wife Perello, who is 31 weeks pregnant, was reportedly admitted to a clinic in Palma, Mallorca and could undergo an operation soon.

On Wednesday, Spanish national daily MARCA reported that while the baby was out of danger and Perello was recovering, doctors advised her to remain in the hospital for a few weeks to be under observation.

In his post-match press conference at the US Open on Thursday, Nadal confirmed that his wife was perfectly fine, contrary to the many rumors circulated by the media.

"As much as certain types of information came out in the press about my wife's condition, my wife is fine," he said.

Reports of the pair expecting a child first came to light in June, with the 22-time Major winner confirming the news later that month.

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Rafael Nadal defeats Fabio Fognini, goes through to US Open third round

Rafael Nadal in action at the 2022 US Open.

Rafael Nadal fought back from a set down to beat Fabio Fognini and progress to the third round of the 2022 US Open. The Spaniard made an uncharacteristically slow start before recovering to beat the Italian 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday.

Fognini led by a set and was ahead by a break on three occasions in the second set before Nadal found his rhythm and made his way back into the contest.

Speaking after the match, the 22-time Grand Slam champion called it "one of the worst starts" ever.

"For more than one hour and a half I was not competing. One of the worst starts probably ever, but yeah, that's part of the game, you know? You need to stay humble, you need to accept the situations," he said.

Though he recovered to beat Fognini, he believes that the Italian made a few mistakes that helped him turn the match around.

"I was lucky honestly that Fabio makes some mistakes in that second set and then I was able to win that set. And then the things become a little bit more normal. But of course, wasn't a good match," he explained.

The 36-year-old will face former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet on Saturday. He should be confident going into the encounter as he has a stunning 17-0 win-loss record against the Frenchman.