“He was one of the best Rafa’s I remember,” Coach Carlos Moya opens up on Rafael Nadal’s ‘hurtful’ Wimbledon withdrawal
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Rafael Nadal and Carlos Moya
Going for his 3rd Grand Slam of the year, Rafael Nadal had an anti-climax at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships as the Spaniard was diagnosed with a 7mm tear in his abdominal muscle after his marathon 5-set win over Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals.
Nadal was 19-0 going into the semis of this year’s Wimbledon and had quite a lot of hopes in achieving the Calendar Slam along with his 3rd title in the All-England Club but it was not meant to be and Nadal had to unfortunately hand a walkover hours before his clash with Nick Kyrgios.
“It was a good decision,”: Carlos Moya on Rafael Nadal’s decision to withdraw
Nadal’s pain started in the quarter-finals against Fritz and had his father and sister also telling him to quit the match but Rafa did not listen and continued playing in extreme pain before eventually winning the match but worsening the condition of his injury.
“It obviously hurts. Being in a Wimbledon semifinal and not being able to play… especially at the level he had. He was one of the best Rafas I remember from the back of the court, being aggressive and not speculating. It was decided to assess the risks involved, and analyze the pros and cons.
“When you are not in the day-to-day it is difficult. I wasn’t there, but I think it was a good decision. Rafa is 36 years old, and he had several Masters 1000s and the US Open ahead of him this year. The best thing for Nadal is to try to be holy. If he is, he’s still competitive in any tournament,” said Nadal’s coach Carlos Moya speaking with ATP Tour.
Carlos Moya compares Rafael Nadal’s situation in Wimbledon and US Open
Rafa is into the 4th round in the 2022 US Open but not without a scare in the second round where he was 2-4 down in second set after losing the first. Rafa however made a brilliant comeback after that including hurting his own nose but nevertheless taking the win.
“As the game was going, we asked him to put in more balls, to play with margin, without angles, and to run. It was something he hadn’t told her in many years: throw to the center and run. We also knew what our rival was like. He was flawless for over an hour, but then he made some mistakes.
“Rafa calmed down and afterwards the level was not bad. He recovered a recognizable version, a medium cruising speed. The head is difficult to control. He explained that he has been through many difficult situations these months. We all believe that he will find the best version of himself.
“We have experience in the past with Rafa, starting tournaments really badly, going through rounds and finishing at a great level. Wimbledon is a similar case. The hope is that something similar will happen here,” added Moya further.
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Sarthak Shitole
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