He Feels Sad – ‘Rafael Nadal should’ve tried to win and…’, says former No.1
Former British tennis player John Lloyd said he thought Rafael Nadal seemed “devastated” as he announced his Wimbledon withdrawal. Nadal managed to overcome Taylor Fritz in five sets and advance to the Wimbledon semi-final, but worst fears were realized when the Spaniard announced his withdrawal from the tournament due to an abdominal tear.
On Thursday, Nadal underwent a scan that showed an abdominal tear. Later that day – after training – Nadal called a press conference and everyone knew what was about to happen. “When he said about not being able to play two games, he knows that even if by some miracle he had beaten Nick Kyrgios, there is no way he can get through two games,” Lloyd said on BBC television.
“If he can’t play 100% there is no way he will. You can see in his face how devastated he is: he has to recover, move on and be healthy and that’s the most important thing.” Tennis fans were very excited to see Nadal take on Kyrgios, but sadly we will have to wait at least another year to see a Nadal and Kyrgios match at Wimbledon.
In his announcement message, Nadal said that he would not be able to play at his best level and that he did not want to put himself in a position where he is clear that it would be difficult for him to succeed. “Unfortunately, as you can imagine, if I’m here, I have to withdraw from the tournament, right?” Nadal said at the press conference he gave on Thursday at Wimbledon.
“As everyone saw yesterday, I’ve been struggling with the pain in my abdomen. Although I’ve tried many times throughout my career to continue in very tough circumstances, in this one I think it’s obvious that if I continue, the injury is going to be getting worse and worse.
That’s all I can say now. I feel very sad to say it.”
Roddick opens up on Nadal
Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick defended Rafael Nadal’s decision to carry on playing in his Wimbledon quarterfinal against Taylor Fritz despite suffering an injury.
Roddick responded to the tweet by emphatically disagreeing with Clarey’s opinion. “No no no no no. You can’t lose in the semis and win a slam. No,” Roddick wrote. The former US Open winner added that it wasn’t Nadal’s job to “protect the other players.”
“No …. he should’ve tried to win and then hoped that the scans weren’t that bad and that he could recover,” Roddick wrote. “They weren’t and he can’t. Not his job to protect the other players.”
