RAFAEL NADAL showed remarkable courage to make his way to the Wimbledon semi-finals by beating Taylor Fritz in five stunning sets.
Although the victory has come at a huge price for the Spanish legend – he has now had to withdraw from Wimbledon.
But has this happened before, and Nadal’s semi-final opponent Nick Kyrgios now gets a walk-over to the final.
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Nadal said: “Unfortunately I am here because I have to withdraw from the tournament, everyone saw yesterday that I was suffering from pain in the stomach.
“I know something wasn’t right there. that is confirmed. I have a tear in the abdominal muscle.
“The communication is too late, I was thinking all day, the decision to make
‘I think so, yes, there’s no point in going. Even though I have done it many times in my career to keep going, difficult circumstances, it is clear that if I continue the injury will get worse and worse. I feel very sad to say that.
“I don’t think I can win two games under these circumstances. I can’t serve.
“It’s not just that I can’t serve at the right speed. I can’t do the normal movement to serve.
“I don’t want to go out and not be competitive to play at this level to reach my goal with a big chance of making things much worse.”
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Will Nick Kyrgios get a bye in the final?
Yes. Nick Kyrgios has now been given a walkover to advance to the final.
This is officially the first time in Wimbledon history that anyone has had to withdraw from the tournament before a semi-final at this late stage.
And that’s why this is the first time anyone has been given a walkover to the final.
Taylor Fritz will not be reinstated in the tournament as he has already been eliminated.