Rafael Nadal has retired from Wimbledon due to injury, and has given Nick Kyrgios a free pass to his first Grand Slam final.
Key points:
- Nick Kyrgios will be the first Australian to win the men’s singles since Lleyton Hewitt in 2002.
- Nadal suffered an abdominal injury in his quarterfinal victory over Taylor Fritz
- Kyrgios will play with Novak Djokovic or Cameron Norrie in the men’s singles final
Nadal, who won the Australian and French Open, suffered an abdominal injury in his semi-final victory over American Taylor Fritz.
“I have to retire from the tournament because I suffered from abdominal pain,” said the 36-year-old, who holds a male record in 22 individual Grand Slam titles.
“I can’t imagine winning two games with that [pain]. For me, the most important thing is happiness more than the title, even though everyone knows the effort I put into it because I can’t risk staying out of the sport for two or three months.
“I’m very sad.”
Nadal had foreshadowed the news after his more than four-hour marathon with Fritz when he said the injury had affected his service and he hoped to “be ready to play” Kyrgios.
A training session at SW19 didn’t get the results Nadal wanted while struggling with his service on Thursday.
The Christmas outing also puts an end to his chance to be the first male player to win all four Grand Slams in a calendar year since Rod Laver in 1969.
But it offers opportunities for both Kyrgios and former Christmas rival Novak Djokovic.
Kyrgios wants to become the first Australian men’s individual champion at Wimbledon since Lleyton Hewitt lifted the trophy 20 years ago in 2002.
For Kyrgios, who himself struggled with shoulder discomfort in his fourth-round win over American Brandon Nakashima, provides an extra day off before Sunday night’s final against Djokovic or the ninth series leader, the British Cameron Norrie.
It also offers Kyrgios an opportunity he admitted after his quarter-final victory over Cristian Garín who he thought could have beaten him.
Speaking of making the semifinal stage, Kyrgios said, “I just never thought I would be in the semifinals of a Grand Slam, I thought my boat had sailed.”
“Honestly, I didn’t do great things early in my career and maybe I missed that little window.”
He now has the opportunity of a lifetime, at the age of 27, to get fresh into a Wimbledon final, instead of having to endure a probable punishing battle with the great Spaniard.
Even better for Kyrgios, he has a 2-0 record against Djokovic and in fact has never left him any set, even though the pair have not played since 2017.
If his opponent is Norrie, Kyrgios will have to overcome a 1-2 record against the Briton.
More to come.
Posted 58 minutes ago 58 minutes ago Thursday, July 7, 2022 at 6:46 PM, updated 4 minutes ago 4 minutes ago Thursday, July 7, 2022 at 7:39 PM