In a bombshell from the French Open, nine-time champion Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the premier clay-court event after the Spaniard revealed that he had been suffering from a wrist injury since the last two weeks.
The 29-year-old called for an unexpected press conference on Friday to reveal that although he participated at the event in the face of an injured left wrist, the pain kept on increasing with the passage of time.
“This is one of the toughest press conferences in my career, probably,” started Nadal, whose left wrist was covered. “I have to retire from the tournament because I have a problem in my wrist that I have since couple of weeks.”
Not only that, the twinge amplified so much so that he had to take an injection on his wrist to be able to partake in the second round match against Facundo Bagnis of Aregntina, which he went on to win in straight sets.
“Yesterday I played with an injection on the wrist. Yesterday night, I started to feel more and more pain.”
The Spaniard, however, vowed to be back here next year, as he insists that he has the drive in him to contend for a record 10th French Open title.
“I know that I cannot finish the tournament; it’s part of life and I hope I’ll come back for many years again in Roland-Garros,” Nadal continued. “I feel myself with the right motivation and the right energy to be back at Roland Garros the next couple of years.”
Meanwhile, Nadal’s withdrawal sends his compatriot Marcel Granollers to the fourth round, where he will square-off against the winner of the match between 13th seed Dominic Thiem of Austria and Germany’s Alexander Zverev.
All quotes courtesy of Roland Garros Twitter handle.
