Rafael Nadal will wait until he has undergone examinations for a muscle injury in his abdomen before deciding whether he will play in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
“There is something more important than winning Wimbledon, that is health. Let’s see how it develops,” the 36-year-old Spaniard said after his quarter-final victory in a five-set thriller against US pro Taylor Fritz, announcing medical tests.
The 22-time Grand Slam tournament winner had sought treatment for his ailments in the second set, receiving anti-inflammatory medication and painkillers from a doctor, as he himself reported. During the match, his father and sister had signalled him to give up. “This is something I hate. That’s why I tried to keep going,” Nadal said.
He fought off Fritz 4-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-4) in 4:21 hours to keep alive the chance of a dream final against defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia. After triumphs at the Australian Open and French Open, Nadal still has a chance at the Grand Slam, winning all four major tournaments in a year. He will now face Australian Nick Kyrgios, who reached his first Wimbledon semi-final by beating Cristian Garin of Chile 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), on Friday.
He could not give a clear answer whether he would play, Nadal said. If he said he would and then something else turned up, “then I would be a liar”.
Before the tournament began, the Spaniard had reported that the chronic pain in his left foot had been alleviated by a special therapy. In Barcelona, Nadal had undergone pulsed radio frequency therapy. The affected foot nerves are anaesthetised with this treatment and can no longer transmit the pain stimulus to the brain. Nadal has been suffering from Müller-Weiss syndrome, a rare and degenerative disease, for several years.
