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Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from his much-anticipated Wimbledon semifinal clash with Nick Kyrgios on Friday due to an abdominal tear.
The two-time winner played through the pain barrier against American Taylor Fritz, recovering from two sets to one down to prevail in a fifth set super tiebreak. After dropping the opening set, Nadal took a medical timeout after seemingly pulling a muscle in his abdomen.
He returned to a standing ovation and promptly restored parity in the contest. However, Fritz took the third to move within a set from his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Nadal, though, was in no mood to throw in the towel, despite his box gesticulating to him to retire from the match.
The Spaniard lost his serve a whopping eight times - including twice in the fourth set - but forced a decider, bringing his famed warrior mentality to the fore. In a high-quality fifth set that went the distance, Nadal's early 5-0 lead proved key.
He eventually won 10-4 in the super tiebreak to extend his perfect Wimbledon quarterfinal record to 8-0 and book a blockbuster last four clash with the combustible Australian Nick Kyrgios.
However, the victory came at a great personal cost for the Spaniard. A day after the win, Nadal experimented with a remodelled serve to reduce the strain on his abdomen. However, it lacked his usual zing, accuracy and top spin, leaving Nadal with no option but to pull out.
In a press conference later in the day, Nadal confirmed what many feared to hear. He was withdrawing from the tournament, as there was a serious possibility of a muscle tear (reported by Marca to be 7 mm) getting aggravated if he took the court.
Nadal explained the reason for his withdrawal from the tournament:
"Unfortunately, as you can imagine, I am here because i have to pull out from the tournament now. As everybody saw yesterday I have been suffering with the pain in the abdominal, I know something was not okay there. It's confirmed I have a tear in the muscle in the abdomen. ... I think it's obvious that if i keep going, the injury’s gonna be worse and worse. ... I feel very sad to say that."
Nadal added that his injury has severely impacted his serve, meaning he cannot be competitive enough to win the tournament.
"I made my decision because I believe I can't win two matches under these circumstances ... I can't serve. It’s not only that I can't serve at the right speed, it's that I can't do the normal movement to serve. So winning two matches and with respect to myself in some way, I don't want to go out there and not be competitive enough to play at the level I need to play to achieve my goal."
"I cannot risk staying two, three months outside of the competition by playing here" - Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal has endured a few injuries despite enjoying one of his career-best seasons. Returning at the start of the year after a long injury layoff, he won his second Australian Open title, becoming the first male player to win 21 Majors.
He also added the Acapulco title before his 20-0 start to the year was ended by Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells final. There, he injured his rib, forcing him to skip Monte Carlo and Barcelona.
Nadal returned to action in Madrid, where he made the quarterfinals, before enduring a third-round exit in Rome, where he was affected by a foot injury. Nevertheless, three weeks later, he won a record-extending 14th Roland Garros title.
Making his first Wimbledon appearance in three years, Nadal made a heroic run to the semifinals, battling an abdominal injury in the Fritz match. The Spaniard doesn't want to spend another long period on the sidelines by playing Kyrgios in the semis.
"Being honest, a couple of weeks ago, I saw my career very difficult because of the foot injury", said Nadal. "I always said for me the most important thing is happiness more than any title. Even if everybody knows how much effort I put to be here, but I can't risk that much and stay two three months outside of the competition because that's gonna be a a tough thing for me."
"I never thought about the Calendar Slam" - Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal was on course for a tryst with history this year after winning the Australian Open and Roland Garros.
A triumph at Wimbledon - his first in 12 years - would have put him three-fourths of the way to a Calendar Slam. It's a rare feat in men's tennis, last accomplished by Rod Laver in 1969.
However, following his Wimbledon withdrawal, Nadal said that thoughts about the Calendar Slam never crossed his mind. He added that he played the Australian Open without pain, but Roland Garros was 'demanding' from a mental and physical perspective.
"No I never thought about the Calendar Slam," said Rafael Nadal. "I thought about my daily happiness and my daily work and just play for the things I really feel like. Australia was not an issue. I didn't have many problems during the tournament, but I came back from a long injury. Roland Garros have been a very demanding mentally especially and physically one."
The Spaniard added that he wanted to give himself the best chance to do well at Wimbledon. He's happy to have played the last few matches at SW19 at a very high level. Even against Fritz in the semis, he started well, bursting into a 3-1 lead before losing the next five games to concede the set.
"Just the fact I am here shows how important is this tournament for me and how much I want to play here," said the 36-year-old. "I did all the things the best way possible to give myself a chance here, and I am in the semi-finals so I'm playing very well the last couple of days and especially yesterday at the beginning of the match playing at very high level."
Asked if it was the right decision to complete the match and not quit midway because of his injury, Rafael Nadal replied in the affirmative.
"Yeah, was the right decision because I finished the match, and I won the match," said Rafael Nadal. "I did the things that I felt in every single moment. I didn't want to pull out in the middle of a quarterfinals match. I found a way to finish the match, and something that I am proud of. Then you have an injury, and you make the decision (to withdraw) thinking about your health and your future."
"I had some issues in the abdomen since the week" - Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal admitted that he has had some issues in his abdominal region since the start of the week. However, they were not bad enough to prevent the Spaniard from competing at a high level.
Nadal said that his muscle tear will keep him out of action for three to four weeks, but he'll be able to play from the baseline in another week without serving. That means his schedule for the rest of the year is unlikely to be impacted much.
"I had some issues in the abdomen since the week, but the things more or less I was able to control, but yesterday was the worst day," said Nadal. It’s gonna be around between three four weeks for this kind of injuries. I hope three four weeks will allow me to do my normal calendar I have on mind. In one week, I gonna be able to play from the baseline not serving, so that's a positive."
Pinpointing the precise moment when he felt something in his abdomen, Nadal said that it was somewhere in the middle of the second set when he was serving. He wanted to finish the match, but that also turned out to be his last at SW19 this year.
"Yesterday in the game that I was serving 3-1, I think was the moment that I start to feel the things were going worst and then serving if I was not wrong serving 4-3, the thing starts to be much worse," said Rafael Nadal. "I wanted to finish the match. I finished with a victory, but then I need to do all the things that I had to do. In this particular case, it's obvious that if I keep going, the injury gonna be increasing."
Rafael Nadal is expected to be back in action before the US Open.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
