Nick Kyrgios has sent a message to Rafael Nadal after the Spaniard withdrew from Wimbledon before his clash in the semi-finals. Nadal has retired from the tournament due to a ruptured abdominal muscle.
On Friday he had to play against Kyrgios in the men’s second semifinal. But now the Australian has received the passage to Sunday’s final, where he will face Novak Djokovic or Cameron Norrie.
Reacting to the news of the Christmas retirement, Kyrgios has wished the 35-year-old the best in his recovery. He wrote on Instagram: “Different verified players, different personalities. @Rafaelnadal I hope your recovery goes well and we all hope to see you soon. See you next time …”
Kyrgios was ready to participate in his first Grand Slam semifinal. But now he will play his first final without having to win in the last four.
Speaking at his press conference, Nadal says he would have missed up to three months of action if he had gone ahead with the Kyrgios party. He said: “The most important thing is happiness more than any title.
“I can’t risk that much and stay out of competition for two or three months because that’s going to be a difficult thing for me. If that happens, it happens, not because I wasn’t doing things the right way.”
Nadal missed Thursday in the scheduled training session on track 10. Instead, he decided to have a session away from the cameras on a training track.
But it looks like he decided he couldn’t continue this week. He added: “Communication comes late because even so I was thinking all day about the decision to make, but I think it doesn’t make sense to go there, even though I’ve tried hard in my career to keep going.
“Very tough circumstances in that, I think it’s clear that if I continue the injury it will get worse and worse. I made that decision because I can’t be competitive and win the next two games. I don’t want to do things. Worse, but I’m very sad.”
Nadal won the first two Grand Slams of the year but at the Australian Open and the French Open. He was about to win a Grand Slam Calendar for the first time in his career, but now that won’t be possible.