"Do you really think Rafa wanted to play Kyrgios at 80%? Something tells me he didn’t want to" - John McEnroe after Rafael Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon
Last week, an unfortunate abdominal injury forced Rafael Nadal to withdraw from the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, one day before he was scheduled to face Australia's Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals. Struggling with the injury for a couple of weeks, Nadal was spotted with athletic tape on his abdomen ever since he came for the grass-court Major.
However, the injury seemed to worsen during his quarterfinal clash with Taylor Fritz. The Spaniard asked for a medical timeout during the second set when his father signaled at him to retire mid-match. The 36-year-old didn't listen, but his movement and serve speed slowed down significantly. He adjusted his game as per his limitations and won a hard-fought five-setter in over four hours.
The two-time Wimbledon champion practiced the following day to prepare for the semifinals when his test reports came. He had a seven-millimeter abdominal muscle tear. Later in the day, Nadal announced his withdrawal from the tournament. His win-loss record at this year's Majors stands at 19-0.
While speaking with the BBC, former World No. 1 John McEnroe suggested that at 80%, the 22-time Grand Slam winner might not be ready to face an in-form Kyrgios.
"Rafa, being the fighter that he always is, decides to play and wins. Was it going to get significantly worse? I don’t know the answer to that. Could he have played? He beat Taylor Fritz at 80%. He was serving at 100mph most of the match.
Fritz 6-3, 3-3.
Nadal looking very weird out there... https://t.co/IEPEYObHdg
"But Kyrgios is dominating Wimbledon in a lot of ways — his play, some of the goings-on, his history, his talent. Do you really think Rafa wanted to play him at 80%? Something tells me he didn’t want to do that," McEnroe said.
The new World No. 3 has faced Kyrgios a total of nine times in the past, winning six of the clashes. The tennis world first noticed the Australian when he defeated Nadal at the 2014 Wimbledon in the fourth round. Their second meeting at SW19 came in 2019 when the Spaniard beat Kyrgios in the second round. The duo last locked horns in the Indian Wells quarterfinals this year, with Nadal winning a thrilling three-setter.
Rafael Nadal leads the Grand Slam race with 22 titles
With Novak Djokovic's triumph at the 2022 Wimbledon, the Big-3 now have a total of 63 Grand Slams to themselves. At the start of the season, all three legends had 20 Majors each. However, Rafael Nadal won the Australian Open and stood one title clear of Djokovic and Roger Federer. He further extended his lead by winning a record-extending 14th French Open last month.
In the last 18 years, 63 out of 75 men's singles Grand Slams have been won by Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
Truly the GOAT era 🐐 https://t.co/EmVwqN7ETF
After the first three Majors of the year, Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal have 20, 21, and 22 Grand Slam titles, respectively. An interesting stat appeared after the Wimbledon final, according to which, the Big-3 have won 16 of the last 17 Australian Open, 17 of the last 18 French Open, 17 of the last 19 Wimbledon, and 12 of the last 18 US Open events.