Rafael Nadal: Brilliant career cursed by injury

Rafael Nadal has collected a record 22 Grand Slam titles but a career plagued by injuries has undoubtedly robbed him of even more. On Thursday, his physical frailties returned to haunt him when he was forced out of Wimbledon with an abdominal injury, just a day before he was to face Nick Kyrgios in the semi-finals. Before his latest setback, he had already missed 11 Grand Slam events stretching back to his debut in 2003. He has also now pulled out during a Slam five times.

Read AlsoNovak Djokovic eyes Wimbledon glory after Rafael Nadal pulls out

Novak Djokovic is preparing for Friday's Wimbledon semi-final against Cameron Norrie safe in the knowledge that his greatest rival Rafael Nadal no longer stands in the way of a 21st Grand Slam triumph. The Spanish second seed was Thursday forced to pull out before his last-four match against Nick

Before Thursday's bombshell, he retired from his 2010 and 2018 Australian Open quarter-finals (knee and leg injuries) and from the 2018 US Open semi-final (knee). At the French Open in 2016, he played two rounds before a wrist injury forced a withdrawal. In stark contrast, career-long rival Novak Djokovic played every Slam from 2005 until the 2017 US Open, which he missed with an elbow injury. That was an unbroken run of 51 majors.

Read Also'I withdrew out of respect to myself': Rafael Nadal after pulling out of Wimbledon semis

The 22-time Grand Slam champion, who has suffered an abdominal injury, announced his pullout a day ahead of his much-anticipated semifinal clash with Australian Nick Kyrgios.

Djokovic's only other two Grand Slam absences were 2020 Wimbledon, which was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and this year's Australian Open, when he was deported over his