Rafael Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon semifinal, Nick Kyrgios advances to final as walkover

Rafael Nadal has officially withdrawn from Wimbledon due to an abdominal injury he suffered during Wednesday’s quarterfinal match against Taylor Fritz. As a result, his semifinal opponent Nick Krygios will advance to Sunday’s final as a walkover.

Nadal finished the Fritz match with a seven-millimeter abdominal tear that was extremely painful. He admitted afterwards he almost retired during the match, but he hung on for a dramatic 10-4 fifth-set tiebreak victory to get two matches from the major he hasn’t won since 2010.

For the 27-year-old Australian Krygios, who has had quite the controversial tournament himself on and away from the grass, he reaches a grand slam final for the first time. He was seen spitting in the direction of a fan and attempting to get his opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas disqualified in the third round during this fortnight already, and is facing charges of domestic violence against a former girlfriend when he returns to Canberra on August 2.

Kyrgios will face the winner of Novak Djokovic and Cameron Norrie on Sunday to close the championships on Centre Court.