Nadal began to struggle with an abdominal muscle during the first set of his quarter-final match with Taylor Fritz, and despite advice from those close to him to scratch the match, he eventually fought out a five-set victory.
“The body is fine, but something is wrong with the abdominal muscles. From 3-1 in the first set, I was in pain with every serve. I thought I would not be able to finish the match and it is true that my father and sister told me to better he retired. But the energy from the crowd helped me, so thank you for that. It’s not easy to give up on the Wimbledon courts,” explained Rafael Nadal at the post-match press conference.
On Thursday, however, he already went for an examination, and even though he received information from the doctors that there is a 7-millimeter tear in the muscle, he wants to play against Nick Kyrgios on Friday.
This is not the first time that Nadal takes to the courts with self-denial. With a two-centimeter tear in his abdominal muscles, he played the semifinals of the US Open in 2009 against Juan Martín del Potro, but he was not enough for the Argentine rival, playing only six games and losing easily in three sets.
Nadal is still aiming for the calendar Grand Slam this year, having triumphed at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. The last time Rod Laver won four Grand Slams in a single year was in 1969.
–
