Nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament on Friday, citing a wrist injury that he could no longer play through.
Rafael Nadal withdraws from French Open due to wrist injury
Nadal is the all-time winningest player at the French Open, but withdrew on Friday.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
“I have to retire from the tournament because I have a problem in my wrist that I have had for couple of weeks,” Nadal said at a press conference on Friday. “Yesterday I played with an injection on the wrist. Yesterday night I start to feel more and more pain ... This is one of the toughest press conferences in my career, probably.”
Nadal had no problem blazing through the first two rounds of competition, dropping just nine games. He defeated Sam Groth in the first round, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, and beat Facundo Bagnis on Thursday, 6-3, 6-0, 6-3. The victory over Bagnis was his 200th win in a grand slam tournament.
Long considered the “King of Clay,” Nadal’s nine titles at the French Open are the most for any man at any singles grand slam tournament. In 2015, a streak of five consecutive wins at the tournament was snapped with a loss to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
Nadal was scheduled to face fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers in the third round on Saturday, but Granollers will instead get a free pass to the fourth round.
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