Nick Kyrgios sends classy message to Rafael Nadal as Spaniard’s withdrawal sends him into Wimbledon final

Wimbledon
Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios hopes to see Rafael Nadal return to action sooner rather than later after the 22-time Grand Slam winner withdrew from their Wimbledon semi-final due to injury.

Nadal struggled with an abdomen injury during his quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz from the United States and he later confirmed that he had a 7mm tear.

And less than 24 hours before his last-four clash against Kyrgios, the Spaniard announced his withdrawal from the tournament, handing the Australian a walkover into his first-ever Grand Slam final.

“I made my decision because I believe that I cannot win two matches under these circumstances,” Nadal said.

“I can’t serve at the right speed; I can’t do normal movements. I can’t imagine myself winning two matches like this, and for respect for myself in a way, I don’t want to go out there and not be competitive enough to play at the level I need to play at to achieve my goal.”

Kyrgios took to Instagram to wish the tennis great a speedy recovery.

“Different players, different personalities. @rafaelnadal I hope your recovery goes well and we all hope to see you healthy soon 🗣🙏🏽 till next time…,” he wrote.

World No 40 Kyrgios is the lowest-ranked – and the first unseeded – Wimbledon finalist since Mark Philippoussis (No 48) in 2003 and the lowest-ranked Grand Slam finalist since world No 54 Marcos Baghdatis reached the 2006 Australian Open final.

The 27-year-old will take on either defending champion Novak Djokovic or British No 1 Cameron Norrie in Sunday’s final.

Nick Kyrgios Rafael Nadal

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