Rafael Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon, hands Nick Kyrgios walkover into final

Rafael Nadal will not contest his Wimbledon semi-final with Nick Kyrgios on Friday as a result of the abdominal injury that severely hampered him during his quarter-final battle with Taylor Fritz on Wednesday.

The news came as the 22-time Slam champion held a special press conference at the All England Club on Thursday announcing his withdrawal from Wimbledon, ending his hopes of the 2022 Calendar Slam.

After Nadal received a scan on the injured area on Thursday morning, Spanish newspaper Marca reported that the results revealed a 7mm tear in the muscle.

As a direct point of comparison,  the Spaniard played the 2009 US Open with a 20mm abdominal tear, losing 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 to eventual champion Juan Martin del Potro in the semi-finals there.

Marca further reported that Nadal did indeed plan to play his semi-final, and he was seen practising on the Wimbledon grounds after his scan on Thursday, the 36-year-old very much struggling in his service motion.

“As everybody saw yesterday I have been suffering with the pain in the abdominal,” Nadal said.

“It’s obvious if I keep going, the injury is going to get worse and worse.”

“I made the decision because I don’t believe I can win two matches under these circumstances.

“I can’t risk playing and then stay two or three months out of competition.”

Kyrgios will face the victor of the semi-final between six-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic and world number 12 and British favourite Cameron Norrie.

Should he face the Serb, Kyrgios notably has a 2-0 record against Djokovic, though both matches were outside of the Slams and both took place back in 2017.

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