Rafael Nadal beat Taylor Fritz in a thrilling, five-set match to advance to a Wimbledon semifinal for the eighth time in his storied career.
However, the Spaniard won't be continuing on in the tournament after his victory.
Stuart Fraser of The Times reports that Nadal has officially withdrawn from Wimbledon ahead of his semifinal against Nick Kyrgios. That will give Kyrgios a walk-over win that will allow the Australian to appear in his first Grand Slam final.
Nadal was nursing an abdominal injury for the duration of his match against Fritz. The injury first popped up a week ago, but the 36-year-old said that the discomfort he was dealing with Wednesday nearly caused him to retire from the match.
"For a lot of moments," Nadal said, per ESPN, "I was thinking, 'Maybe I will not be able to finish the match.'"
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Of course, Nadal did finish the five-set match, which lasted more than four hours and required a final-set tiebreaker to decide and won 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-4). That clinched him the right to play Kyrgios, but Nadal wasn't sure he would be able to do so.
"I don't know. Honestly, I can't give you a clear answer," Nadal said when asked about his status for the semifinal.
I don't know exactly what I have. It's clear something's not right. I'm obviously worried.
Nadal had tests on the injury, which got progressively worse through his long battle with Fritz, on Thursday. Evidently, they didn't go well as he withdrew from the competition later that day.
MORE: Nick Kyrgios calls path to Rafael Nadal semifinal matchup a "rocky road"
Dealing with injuries is nothing new for Nadal. He has missed or been forced to retire from events in the past because of a rare, foot condition he has called Mueller-Weiss syndrome which causes wear and tear on bones in the feet. He wasn't even sure whether he would play in Wimbledon after a foot injury impacted him during his French Open win.
But the abdominal issue is new terrain; and Nadal apparently realized he wouldn't be able to win another match while dealing with the lingering effects from it.
"It's difficult," Nadal said of playing through the injury. "Nothing can be fixed when you have a thing like this. That's it."
