LONDON: Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from Wimbledon ahead of his semifinal against Nick Kyrgios with a torn abdominal muscle.
Nadal, 35, who was an hour late for his scheduled practice session at Aorangi Park on Thursday, hit for 40-minutes away from media gaze. He addressed the press later in the day, after only gingerly rolling his arm at practice.
Nadal, who won the Australian Open and French Open titles and was halfway to a calendar Slam, has been struggling with an abdominal injury for the last few days. Nadal suffered a 7mm tear of his abdominal muscle.
The Spaniard, who picked up the injury earlier in the tournament, hasn’t been practising serves during his off days.
The No. 2 seed, who took a medical time-out at 4-3 in the second set against Fritz, looked distinctly uneasy, so much so that his father and sister, seated in the stands, gestured to the 36-year-old to retire from the match. A couple of anti-inflammatories helped the Spaniard soldier on.
Nadal’s withdrawal puts Kyrgios in his maiden Grand Slam final. The first semifinal pits Novak Djokovic against home-hope Cameron Norrie.