Injured Rafael Nadal Pulls Out Of Wimbledon Semi-Final

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from his Wimbledon semi-final, allowing Nick Kyrgios to advance into his first Grand Slam final.

Nadal suffered an abdominal injury in his quarter-final match against America’s Taylor Fritz, however continued to play against the advice of his team.

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The 22-time Grand Slam winner faced media overnight (AEDT) announcing his withdrawal.

"I have to pull out of the tournament as I have been suffering with pain in abdominal."

"I knew something was not okay there, [and] it's confirmed: I have a tear in the muscle in the abdomen.

"I can't imagine winning two matches with this [pain]. For me, the most important thing is happiness rather than the title even though everyone knows how much effort I put into this as I can't risk being out of the sport for two to three months.

"I am very sad."

Reported by Spaniard paper Marca, Nadal’s tear is seven millimetres long.

 “I can’t serve. Is not only that I can’t serve at the right speed, it’s that I can’t do the normal movement to serve,” Nadal said.

Nadal went for scans on Thursday morning and returned for a delayed training session at Aorangi Park.

He worked on groundstrokes and minimal serving, obvious he had been altering his technique to try and manoeuvre through the pain.

It wasn’t until Friday’s  order of play was released that Nadal conceded he wouldn’t be fit to play.

Kyrgios, who beat Cristian Garin in straight sets in the quarter-final, will play either Novak Djokovic or Cameron Norrie in the men’s single final.

He is the first player in the open era to reach a Grand Slam final by walkover, and the first Australian to play a major title since Mark Philippoussis in 2003.

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