Division reigns among tennis fans after Nick Kyrgios advanced to the Wimbledon men’s final following Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal from his Wimbledon semi-final after failing to recover from an abdominal injury he sustained in his quarterfinal victory against Taylor Fritz.
“I have to pull out of the tournament as I have been suffering with pain in abdominal,” Nadal told reporters while announcing his withdrawal.
“I knew something was not okay there, [and] it’s confirmed: I have a tear in the muscle in the abdomen.
“I can’t imagine winning two matches with this [pain]. For me, the most important thing is happiness rather than the title even though everyone knows how much effort I put into this as I can’t risk being out of the sport for two to three months.
“I am very sad.”
Nadal’s announcement provides Kyrgios with a walkover in the semifinal to take on the winner of the other semi-final between Novak Djokovic and British hope Cameron Norrie.
Before his announcement, Nadal competed in a gruelling five-set quarter-final match defeating American Taylor Fritz. Following Nadal’s announcement to drop out, tennis commentators are now questioning whether Fritz should be offered a similar opportunity as Kyrgios and implement the “lucky loser” policy allowing him to face off against Kyrgios in a semi-final final match.
The “lucky loser” rule provides players who have lost during a qualifying round of a tournament the opportunity to return to the draw when another competitor pulls due to injury. In regards to this circumstance, Fritz would compete against Kyrgios in the semi-finals.
However, the rule is usually not enacted this late in a grand slam but that hasn’t stopped commentators and the general public from weighing in on the matter and calling for Fritz to be given a shot at the finals while questioning Kyrgios’advance to the finals.
New York Times tennis reporter Christopher Clarey took to Twitter claiming the lucky loser policy in this instance is “worth exploring”.
Clarey’s tweet caused an avalanche of responses on social media, with some users championing for Fritz to be given a chance at the finals.
Although many supported Fritz’s inclusion into the finals, many stood in opposition citing that “wins should be earned”.
Several other users took a different view, focusing more on their displeasure at the walkover provided to Kyrgios and that the Australian made it to the finals without having to compete in the semis.
One user chose to make light of Kyrgios’ path to the finals.
Although one user was sad to see Nadal forced to drop out, they were looking forward to the opportunity for Kyrgios to secure his first grand slam.
Whatever side of the tennis net fans sit on there is no doubt that recent events will provide tennis die-hards with an exciting and action-packed weekend of tennis at Wimbledon.