Spanish sports daily Marca earlier Thursday reported that Nadal had a “seven-millimetre” tear to his abdomen but still intended to play
Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios
Rafael Nadal announced Thursday that he was withdrawing from Wimbledon after failing to recover from an abdominal injury, ending his hopes of a calendar Grand Slam. Semi-final opponent Nick Kyrgios will receive a walkover into Sunday’s final. Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, was visibly in pain during in a gruelling five-set win against 11th-seeded American Taylor Fritz on Wednesday. Spanish sports daily Marca earlier Thursday reported that Nadal had a “seven-millimetre” tear to his abdomen but still intended to play.
But Nadal scheduled a press conference later in the day at which he confirmed he was withdrawing. “Unfortunately, as you can imagine, I am here because I have to pull out from the tournament,” said the two-time Wimbledon champion. “As everyone saw yesterday, I have been suffering with a pain in the abdominal and something was not OK there. That is confirmed, I have a tear in the muscle. It is very tough circumstances but it is obvious if I keep going the injury will be worse and worse,” he added.
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Everyone wanted us to go to war: Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios said on Friday he was disappointed not to face Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, saying that “everyone did want to see us go to war out there”. Kyrgios, one the sport’s most talented yet divisive characters, is in his first final at the majors at the age of 27. Had he faced Nadal, it would have been their third clash at Wimbledon. Kyrgios won the first in 2014 as a 144th-ranked wild card before Nadal gained revenge in a stormy clash three years ago. “We’ve had a lot of run-ins, a lot of battles,” said Kyrgios. “I’m sure at the end of the day everyone did want to see us go to war out there. I hope he just gets better.”
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