Rafael Nadal Abandons Australian Open Due to Injury
Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, world number 1, abandoned the Australian Open quarter-final match against Croatian Marin Cilic due to a right leg injury. The score was 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 and 2-0 on Tuesday in Melbourne.
Nadal requested a medical timeout during the fourth set to receive a massage on the upper part of his right leg. Afterwards, he couldn't run normally.
Cilic will compete for a spot in the final against British player Kyle Edmund (49th), who surprised Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (N.3) in four sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 and 6-4.
Even without the injury, Nadal could have lost the high-flying match because Cilic gave him problems from the beginning.
Australia | Dominant debut by world number 1 Rafael Nadal (🇪🇸), who swept Victor Estrella Burgos (🇩🇴) by 6-1, 6-1, 6-1. pic.twitter.com/PIPSXSXyU0
— Drive Cruzado (@DriveCruzado) January 15, 2018
"It was a great match between the two of us. It's a real shame for Rafa, who is a great fighter, to end like this," said Cilic, who will play his second Australian Open semifinal after 2010.
Nadal, 31 years old, arrived in Australia without practice due to a knee injury that forced him to retire from the Masters in London in November. In last year's edition of the first Grand Slam of the year, he was a finalist against Roger Federer.
After his withdrawal, only three seeded players remain in the tournament: Cilic (N.6), already in the semifinals, and Federer (N.2) and Tomas Berdych (N.19), who will play in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
AFP