It has been reported that Rafael Nadal suffered a seven-millimetre tear in his abdominal muscle. The Spaniard has withdrawn from his Wimbledon semi-final against Nick Kyrgios.
According to the Spanish newspaper Marca, Nadal suffered a seven-millimetre tear in his abdominal muscle. The injury forced him to seek medical advice after his five-set victory over Taylor Fritz in the quarter-final. He won 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, and 7-6 (10-4) on centre court.
“Nadal is suffering a seven-millimetre tear in one of the abdominal muscles,” said Marca.
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“I have to pull out of the tournament. As everybody saw yesterday I have been suffering with the pain in the abdominal [area]. That’s confirmed,” Nadal announced his withdrawal.
The injury also forced him to a medical timeout during the match. He continued to be attended to by the medical team throughout the match. It was later revealed that his father and sister insisted on him retiring from the tournament during the medical timeout.
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“My sister and father were telling me to retire,” Nadal said after his victory over Fritz. “For me, it’s tough to quit in the middle of a match. I have done that a couple of times in my career, but I hate doing that. That’s why I kept fighting, wanting to finish the match regardless of the result.”
Nadal was given anti-inflammatory drugs during the time out. He said that the pain had restricted his movement. He had suffered the pain since the beginning of the tournament.
“Let’s see. It’s obvious that this is nothing new. I had these feelings for a couple of days. Without a doubt, this was the worst day. There has been an important increase of pain and limitation,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion said.
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‘Happiness is more important than any title’
Earlier in 2009, Nadal also competed against Juan Martin del Potro in the US Open semifinals, while being injured in his abdomen. Nadal lost the match to the Argentine in straight sets. He only won six games overall.
At a press conference on Thursday, Nadal expressed his doubts about facing Kyrgios.
“I don’t want to go out on the field and not be competitive enough to play at the level I need to reach my goal,” he said. “I have a tear in the abdominal, the muscle. I was thinking about the whole day about the decision. But it doesn’t make sense to keep going. If I keep going the injury will get worse and worse. I feel very sad to say that.”
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He said the injury would not only limit his general movement but also prevent him from performing proper serving motions. “Under the circumstances, I can’t win two matches,” he continued. “Happiness is more important than any title.”
Nadal had been wearing brown strapping on the right side of his abdomen since the beginning of the tournament. Prior to announcing his withdrawal, Nadal said he would undergo some tests. He said he played through the pain because he was “used to having pain and playing with problems”.
That being said, he refused to promise that he would face Kyrgios in the final.
“I can’t give you a clear answer because if I gave you a clear answer and then another thing happens, I will be a liar,” he said.
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