Wimbledon: Nadal suffered 7mm tear in abdominal muscle, still wants to play semis
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday struggled past Taylor Fritz after the Spaniard played through an abdominal injury in order to reach the semi-finals.
Struggling with physical ailment, Nadal appeared close to retiring mid-match on Centre Court but he found the will to beat Fritz in four hours and 20 minutes.
According to Marca, Nadal suffered a seven millimeter tear in one of the abdominal muscles and wants to try to play the semifinals. He has undergone the relevant medical tests on Thursday morning, according to the report.
Last night, however, Nadal wasn’t really sure if he would be able to make the semis.
READ | Roger Bannister to Rafael Nadal: The triumphs of the greats may not be possible without the pain“I don’t know,” Nadal said when asked about his chances of playing the unseeded 27-year-old Kyrgios.
“Honestly, I can’t give you a clear answer because if I gave you a clear answer and tomorrow another thing happens, I will be a liar.”
Nadal took a medical timeout against 11th-seeded Fritz during his quarter-final outing to get treatment on the injury and said he had to adjust his game to continue playing.
AdvertisementThe Spaniard, however, considered retiring many times during the contest.
“I just wanted to give myself a chance. Not easy to leave the tournament, not easy to leave Wimbledon, even if the pain was hard,” the 22-times Grand Slam winner said.
READ | Serve & bully (not): Nick Krygios’ roiling antics need to take a firm backseat and focus on the game, against Nadal in Wimbledon SF“I don’t know. I wanted to finish. I fought. Proud about the fighting spirit and the way that I managed to be competitive under that condition.”
AdvertisementNadal said he was worried about the injury and he will undergo more scans on Thursday before making a decision about continuing to compete at the grasscourt major.
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“I am used to holding pain and play with problems,” said Nadal, who played and won Roland Garros with pain-killing injections prior to each match and only confirmed his Wimbledon participation after radio frequency treatment eased pain in his foot.