London, July 7 (BUS): Rafael Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon on Thursday due to a ruptured abdominal muscle, a day before Nick Kyrgios’ semi-final match.
This is the first time since 1931 that a man from the oldest Grand Slam tournament has withdrawn before a semi-final or final, according to the Associated Press.
“I made my decision because I don’t think I can win two games under the circumstances,” Nadal said at a news conference at the All England Club. “I can’t serve. Not only can I not serve at the right pace, I can’t do the natural movement of serving. “.
The main protagonist sighed 22 times occasionally while answering questions in English, then Spanish, for more than 20 minutes in total.
Twice he described himself as “very sad”. Nadal said trying to stay competitive could make the injury worse.
The only other time in his career that Nadal pulled off his opponent by withdrawing from a Grand Slam before a match came at the 2016 French Open, when he withdrew before the third round due to a left wrist injury.
The 40th seed Kyrgios, a 27-year-old from Australia, advanced to his first match for his Grand Slam title and became the first unranked finalist at Wimbledon since Mark Philippoussis, who lost to Roger Federer in 2003.
Kyrgios will meet either three-times defending champion and top seed Novak Djokovic or Britain’s 9th seed Kam Nuri in the tournament on Sunday. The semi-finals will be held on Friday.
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