Rafael Nadal shocked the tennis world Thursday as it's been reported that he has withdrawn from his Wimbledon semifinal match against Nick Kyrgios. Nadal has been dealing with an abdominal injury since early last week. It appeared to crop up during the first set of his quarterfinal match against American Taylor Fritz. Nadal battled through and went on to win a grueling five-set match. That set up what would have been an interesting semifinal against Kyrgios.
However, Bleacher Report has stated that Nadal's injury was worse than initially thought. The 22-time Grand Slam Champion has a seven-millimeter abdominal tear that is costing him a chance at title number 23.
Instead, the embattled Aussie, Kyrgios, will earn a walkover into his first Major Final of his career.
Kyrgios has always shown to have the ability and skills to win a Grand Slam, but almost always seemed to either buckle under the pressure or blow up on the court. He's always been surrounded by controversy. Even during this Wimbledon tournament, there were reports of Kyrgios spitting toward a fan.
He will face the winner of Novak Djokovic and Cameron Norrie at the Wimbledon Finals. Sadly, this puts an end to the possibility for a Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic Wimbledon Final. That's something most tennis fans were hoping to see possibly for the last time.
This is almost equally important of news for Djokovic. He is tied with Roger Federer for second all-time with 20 Grand Slam titles. He is healthier and likely is going to continue to play at an elite level for longer than Nadal is capable. If he can win this tournament, it inches him closer to Nadal and the record.
The Spaniard had a chance to put some space between the two men were he to win Wimbledon.