Tracy Austin said she thought Rafael Nadal looked very sad during his press conference on Thursday, as the American tennis legend noted that it was indeed extremely difficult for the Spaniard to withdraw from Wimbledon.
On Wednesday, Nadal overcame an abdominal injury to beat Taylor Fritz in five sets. Nadal called a medical timeout in the second set, but refused to give up and won the match in five tight sets.
A day later, scans revealed an abdominal tear and Nadal called a press conference to announce his withdrawal from the semi-final match against Nick Kyrgios. “He shows how sad he is: he loves to compete, he is 36 years old and boy has he had a tough year.
After the foot injury at Roland Garros and the injections,” Austin told the BBC. “It’s hard to believe I won a Major with a numb foot. He comes here and most of us thought that he would retire yesterday in the second or third set.
The guy just wants to compete, the will, the effort. But he said, ‘I have to respect myself, I don’t want to go out there if I can’t compete or serve well.'”
Wimbledon wished Nadal a speedy recovery
Not having one of the semi-final matches will always be a huge blow to Wimbledon.
However, they understood the situation and wished Nadal a speedy recovery from his injury. “We want to give our condolences to Rafa Nadal on his retirement. We appreciate how hard he has worked to be fit to compete, and we wish him the best in his recovery.
We now look forward to an exciting semi-final tomorrow and final weekend, and to see Rafa back at Wimbledon next year,” the All England Club spokesman said in a statement. Nadal will now take time to treat the injury and he is expected to return to action this summer in the United States.
–
