Rafael Nadal said he felt he was in «a very good position» to win Wimbledon before suffering an incredibly unfortunate abdominal injury. Nadal, 36, came to Wimbledon with a chance to capture a calendar Grand Slam.
After winning the Australian Open and French Open titles, Nadal hoped to win his second Wimbledon title in 2022. Nadal then suffered an abdominal injury during a five-set quarterfinal win over Taylor Fritz. After the match, scans revealed that Nadal suffered a seven-millimeter abdominal tear.
Nadal called a press conference the day before his Wimbledon semi-final against Nick Kyrgios and everyone knew at that point that the Spaniard’s streak at The Championships was over.
Nadal on an unfortunate end to his Wimbledon career
«In fact, since my second title in 2010, I have never played so well in London.
I was in a very good personal position to try to win it again. In that scenario I hurt myself and from then on the year has been a disaster, because I did it again the week before the US Open but I didn’t want to say anything at that moment because I’m tired of talking about penalties (Rafa laughs).
Then I had to recover again and then my son was born, so it was difficult to reach the last stretch of the season with optimal preparation,» Nadal told Marca. Although Nadal did not win Wimbledon, he was still undefeated at the Grand Slam level after the first three Grand Slam tournaments of the year.
In their Wimbledon semifinal, Nadal gave Kyrgios a walkover and walkovers do not count as wins or losses in official ATP statistics. Two months later, Nadal was able to compete at the US Open but it was clear he had matches to go and he was not in top shape for the tournament.
Ultimately, Nadal’s run at the US Open ended in the round of 16 with a loss to Taylor Fritz. Now, Nadal is preparing to defend his Australian Open title.
