"At 36 years old that a player is able to win two Grand Slams in the circumstances that he has, it is very difficult to explain in words what he is doing" - Feliciano Lopez on Rafael Nadal
Spanish tennis player Feliciano Lopez praised his compatriot Rafael Nadal and claimed that when he is healthy, very few players can defeat him. The remarks came after Nadal pulled out of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships due to an abdominal muscle tear.
With victories over Francisco Cerundolo, Ricardas Berankis, Lorenzo Sonego, Botic van de Zandschulp, and Taylor Fritz, the Spaniard made it to his eighth Wimbledon semifinal. However, he was clearly in pain when he defeated Fritz in a bruising five-set quarterfinal on Wednesday.
Nadal told the media during a press conference on Thursday that he was pulling out of Wimbledon.
Now official: Rafael Nadal WITHDRAWS from the semifinal vs. Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon.
19-0 in Grand Slams this year but Calendar Slam dream over.
Nick makes first Slam final, awaits Djokovic or Norrie.
Feliciano Lopez, in a recent interview with Spanish newspaper MARCA, said that he lacks adequate words to describe Nadal's achievements.
"When he is healthy there are very few players who can beat him," said Lopez. "We have long run out of words to describe what Rafa does. You have to enjoy it because at 36 years old that a player is able to win two Grand Slams in the circumstances that he has, it is very difficult to explain in words what he is doing."
The former World No. 12 added that he agrees with Nadal's decision to withdraw from Wimbledon.
"I think it's the best decision he could make because of the circumstances," Lopez acknowledged. "Rafa plays the Grand Slams to win them and it doesn't make sense for him to jump on the court in those conditions and there is also the risk of hurting himself more and endangering the rest of the season."
We're sad to see it end this way, @RafaelNadal
Thank you for another year of unforgettable moments at The Championships
#Wimbledon https://t.co/XadiEVxaWF
"I can't win two matches under these circumstances" - Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal said in his press conference that although he had been feeling pain in the abdominal area since the previous week, it had gotten worse during the match against Taylor Fritz, particularly while serving.
"Unfortunately, as you can imagine if I am here, I have to pull out from the tournament," Nadal said. "As everybody saw yesterday, I have been suffering with the pain in abdominal. I know something was not OK there, as I said yesterday."
Even though the 22-time Major champion practiced for around 45 minutes on Thursday in an effort to get ready for his semifinal, he soon realized that the ailment would prevent him from performing at his peak
"I made my decision because I believe that I can't win two matches under these circumstances," Nadal said. "I can't serve. It's not only that I can't serve at the right speed, it's that I can't do the normal movement to serve.