Rafael Nadal Retires with Injury, Marin Cilic Moves into Australian Open Semifinals
Rafael Nadal was forced to retire in the fifth set from his quarterfinals match against Marin Cilic on Tuesday due to a right leg injury.
After three hours and 47 minutes, No. 6-seed Cilic won the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2, 2-0 (ret.) over Nadal, who called it quits after struggling with discomfort in his leg in the fourth set. Nadal took a medical timeout trailing 1-4 the fourth set and a trainer treated his right leg and upper thigh. The Spaniard returned to the match but was visibly hampered by the injury.
"Is not the first time an opportunity that is gone for me," Nadal said after the match. "I am a positive person, and I can be positive, but today is an opportunity lost to be in the semifinals of a Grand Slam and fight for an important title for me."
Cilic moves into Thursday's semifinals to face Great Britain's Kyle Edmund, who defeated No. 3-seed GrigorDimitrov in four sets on Tuesday. The 29-year-old Croatian also reached the semifinals in Melbourne in 2010 and is coming off a year where he made the quarterfinal at the French Open and the final at Wimbledon.
Michael Dodge/Getty Images
Tuesday's retirement marks only the second time Nadal has retired in 264 Grand Slam matches—the last time was also at the Australian Open, against Andy Murray in the quarterfinals in 2010. In his post-match press conference, Nadal said that the injury was not to his hip but an upper thigh muscle that he could not exactly locate. He said he will get an MRI on the area tomorrow.
"Is not the right moment to say for me," Nadal said after the match. "Somebody who is running the tour should think little bit about what's going on. Too many people getting injured.
"...there is life after tennis. I don't know if we keep playing in this very, very hard surfaces what's going to happen in the future with our lives."
