Wimbledon - Rafael Nadal withdrawal 'a smart decision' before Nick Kyrgios semi-final says Alex Corretja

Eurosport's Alex Corretja believes Rafael Nadal made «a smart decision» to withdraw from his Wimbledon semi-final clash with Nick Kyrgios due to injury. Nadal practised at the All England Club on Thursday ahead of the last-four clash with the Australian, but he then called a press conference for the evening in which he confirmed that he had been forced to pull out. Ad/> It has been reported in the Spanish press that medical tests revealed he suffered a seven-millimetre tear in one of his abdominal muscles during the quarter-final against Taylor Fritz.

According to Cadena Ser, Nadal appeared at the All England Tennis Club at 2pm on Thursday, and minutes later, he began training to prepare for the semi-final. Wimbledon'Very sad' Nadal explains decision to withdraw before semi-final2 HOURS AGO The Spaniard somehow managed to continue his quest to secure a historic Calendar Slam in 2022 after he roared back to beat Fritz in a marathon quarter-final. But while he managed to pull through the match with Fritz, he has come to the decision that he will not be able to compete at a sufficient level against Kyrgios and Corretja believes he is being wise.

“It’s a pity, yes, but honestly, it was expected," Corretja said. «I know that he fought so hard yesterday to beat Taylor Fritz, but today he tried and he realised that he had no chance to compete at the highest level, to beat Kyrgios and most likely [Novak] Djokovic or [Cameron] Norrie in the final. »For him to play on two days in these circumstances, it was going to be very difficult.