‘I withdrew out of respect to myself’: Rafael Nadal after pulling out of Wimbledon semis | Tennis News

Rafael Nadal announced on Thursday his decision to withdraw from Wimbledondue to an abdominal injury, was “out of respect for myself”.
“I made my decision because I think I can’t win two matches under these circumstances. I can’t serve,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion said as he announced his retirement a day before his very clash. expected in the semi-finals with the Australian. Nick Kyrgios.
“It’s not just that I can’t serve at the right speed, it’s that I can’t make the normal motion to serve.”
“I have to say, out of respect for myself, I don’t want to go out there, not be competitive enough to play at the level I need to achieve my goal, and with a great chance of making things right. much worse, right?
“As I’ve always said, for me the most important thing is happiness more than any title, even though everyone knows how much effort I put in to be here. But I can’t risk this match and stay two, three months out of competition because it will be a difficult thing for me.

Nadal, who was on track for a schedule after winning the Australian and French Open this year, struggled in the quarter-final against American Taylor Fritz.
At one point during the second set, his father and sister were seen waving him over to give a walk-over. But the Mallorcan generally kept playing and won the fifth set tie-break.
The 36-year-old Spanish legend defended himself by ignoring his family’s advice.

“Yeah, it was the right decision because I finished the game. I won the game. I did the things that I felt in every moment,” he said.
“I’m not the kind of player and the kind of person that when you’re making decisions, I’m going to look back and say, I shouldn’t do this, or I should do something else.
“I didn’t want to retire, (leave) in the middle of a quarter-final match. Even if the possibility of abandonment remains in my mind for a long time after the first five, six games, I find a way to finish the game.
“Something I’m proud of. Then you confirm that you have an injury and then you make the decision thinking about your health and your future.

The withdrawal means Rod Laver’s feat of winning all four majors in a year, which he achieved twice in 1962 and 1969, remains intact.
Nadal, however, said schedule slamming was never his pursuit.
“No, I never thought about calendar slamming. I was thinking about my daily happiness and my daily work. Just play for the things I really feel, no,” he said.
“I did everything in the best way possible to give myself a chance here. I’m in the semi-finals, so I’ve been playing very well the last few days. Especially yesterday, at the start of the game, playing at a very, very high level. .
“Even that makes me feel a little worse because I felt that by playing at the level I was playing, I would probably have a chance.”
Nadal said he had an abdominal problem for a week, but it got worse in the game against Fritz. He said he would need at least a month to recover and hoped to play his original schedule.

“I had abdominal problems for a week, but we managed to control them. But yesterday was the worst day, no,” he said.
“It (the injury) will last between three, four weeks, normal for this kind of injury. So I hope this (recovery) will allow me to do my normal schedule.
“I can’t keep playing, but in a week I’ll be able to play from the baseline. Do not serve for a while, of course.
“In a way it’s a positive thing, that I’m going to continue to be able to train from the baseline. It helps to try to do the schedule that I want to do.
Kyrgios becomes the first Australian since Mark Philippousis, also at Wimbledon in 2003, to reach a major final.
Ranked 40th in the world, he is also the lowest ranked player and the first unranked player since Philippousis, then No. 48, to reach the final at Wimbledon.
It’s also only the second instance of a major men’s semi-final victory in the Open era, the previous one being Richard Krajicek’s victory over Jim Courier at the 1992 Australian Open.