No Wimbledon semi-final for Rafael Nadal: the Spanish champion decided to retire the day before the penultimate round of the tournament due to an abdominal injury, as explained by him at the press conference. “I believe that I cannot continue playing in these circumstances and feeling this pain”, explained his retirement to the reporters present in London.
It is the end, therefore, of his journey to Wimbledon and the possibility of completing the Calendar Grand Slam, with the victory of all four Grand Slam titles in one year. The abdominal injury, however, was already an obstacle that prevented him from reaching the final goal in this third Grand Slam of the season, giving problems to the Iberian already in the quarter-finals.
In fact, Nadal had already shown pain and difficulty in the match against Taylor Fritz; despite this, the twenty-two-time Grand Slam winner had managed to snatch the victory from the American, who was unable to take advantage of his opponent’s moments of weakness.
After Rafa Nadal’s retirement, on social media they wondered if it would be fairer for Nadal to already give up the quarter-finals, so that Taylor Fritz could compete in the semifinals against Nick Kyrgios. The American number one, however, has a very specific idea of this hypothesis.
On Instagram, an account reported to Fritz of Nadal’s retirement only after winning the quarter-finals and the possibility for him to play a Wimbledon semi-final. The winner of the latest edition of Indian Wells, however, immediately made it clear that this is not what he would have wanted.
“I am not looking for charity. If I couldn’t beat him then I don’t deserve to be in the semifinals… simple ”: this is Fritz’s response on Instagram to one of the accounts.
Rafa Nadal is expected to play in Canada
Toni Nadal wrote a column in El Pais about his nephew’s injury and fitness situation over the years.
“The reality of my nephew, indeed, has been the one that I reminded my brother once when he told me that we rushed too many times: “If it hadn’t been like that, Rafael Nadal would have lifted half of the Grand Slams he has”.
He, of course, will not put his health at risk, as he has stated lately, but the fact is that he combines a set of characteristics that allow him to make the most of his worst circumstances,” Toni Nadal said. Toni stated that the withdrawal from Wimbledon will help his nephew recover for the US Open.
“This time it could not be and finally, what for everyone was very predictable has happened. Playing the semifinal of a Grand Slam with a rupture in the abdominal area is an impossible task. Rafael decided yesterday afternoon to withdraw from the tournament, but I think he made it clear, once again, his intention not to leave until he sees all the possibilities exhausted and to maintain his iron commitment, the one that will encourage him to recover and face with enthusiasm the US Open.”
