Nick Kyrgios sent a message to Rafael Nadal after the Spaniard withdrew from Wimbledon ahead of the semi-final match. Nadal withdrew from the tournament due to a rupture of the abdominal muscle.
He was scheduled to face Kyrgios in his second men’s semi-final match on Friday. But the Australian is now in the final on Sunday, where he will face either Novak Djokovic or Cameron Norrie.
In response to the news of Nadal’s withdrawal, Kyrgios wished the 35-year-old all the best on his recovery. He wrote on Instagram: “Verified for different players and different personalities. @rafaelnadal Hope you have a good recovery and hope to see you all healthy soon. Until next time…”
Kyrgios was scheduled to participate in his first Grand Slam semi-final. But he will now play his first-ever final without having to win the round of four.
Speaking at his press conference, Nadal said he would have missed up to three months of play if he had played a Kyrgios match. He said: The most important thing is happiness more than any title.
“I can’t risk that much and stay two or three months out of competition because that’s going to be hard for me. If that happens, it will, not because I haven’t done things the right way.”
Nadal missed his scheduled Court 10 training session on Thursday. Instead he decided to have an off-camera session on the training ground.
But he seems to have made up his mind that he cannot continue this week. He added: “The call is late because even like that I’ve been thinking all day about what decision to make but I think it doesn’t make sense for me to go, even if I try so much in my career to keep going.
“Very difficult conditions in that case I think obviously if you keep getting injured it will get worse. I made that decision because I can’t be competitive and win the next two games. I don’t want to make things worse, but I am very sad.”
Nadal won his first two Grand Slam titles of the year but at the Australian Open and the French Open. He was on his way to winning the Calendar Grand Slam title for the first time in his career but now that won’t be possible.
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