NINE-TIME CHAMPION Rafael Nadal has been forced to withdraw from the French Open with a left wrist injury, but insisted the heartbreaking setback did not mean the end of his career.
“It’s not broken, but if I continue to play it will be broken in a few days,” said an emotional Nadal, the fourth seed.
“This is a very bad position, but that’s life. If this was not Roland Garros I probably would not have taken the risk of playing in the first couple of days.”
Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam title winner, has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, affecting his knees and wrist.
A right wrist injury forced him to skip the 2014 US Open.
Despite his latest setback, the charismatic Spaniard said he will keep playing although his participation at Wimbledon next month is now in serious doubt.
“Nine times in my career I have been able to be healthy here in Paris and win this tournament,” he said.
“This is a tough moment and the toughest press conference I have ever had to give but it’s not the end.”
Nadal had coasted through the first two rounds in Paris dropping just nine games but revealed he had needed pain-killing injections in his wrist to take part.
His withdrawal gives compatriot Marcel Granollers a walkover into the last 16.
It’s also a huge boost to Novak Djokovic’s hopes of lifting a first French Open crown.
Nadal and Djokovic were due to meet in the semi-finals next Friday — the date of the Spaniard’s 30th birthday.
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This is a great opportunity to try something different and not have the usual opposition of the old school diehards who dont want change.
The idea of an open knockout championship sounds great I think and would give teams a shot of a dream run. If I’m from Kildare or Fermanagh, I would be much more motivated for championship as you go from 7 games (minimum) to an All Ireland final to 4 games..
@Lad: until those old school diehards stop getting voted onto county/provincial boards, provincial championships are here to stay.
@Lad: Would that not bring us back to why the qualifier system was introduced. 16 teams would only get 1 game. I’d be in favour of a champions league style group format, ran for 2 years, and then split into 2 separate championships, retaining that format. Have a system for promotion and relegation. It’s a lot of games for players though, which may make it a hard sell.
Open draw, try it once. Can u imagine if Kerry got Dublin in killarney in football or tipp v kilkenny in thurles..in first round ties..the buzz would be unique.
@jay bernard: would they allow supporters at the match?
Look, it’s best to just forget about the league, and I’m not just saying that because we may be relegated (‘ ‘) ….
@Logan Shepherd: “May”
@Logan Shepherd: please god forget about the league
@my name: Ah .. if it was May, I’d say go ahead and finish it, but it’s nearly the end of June :-)
Always thought brollys idea of 8 groups of 4 teams with top two play knockout for A all Ireland bottom two play in b all Ireland. Everyone gets 4 games and everyone has chance for a all Ireland. Entails for far more excitement
Yeah, what most of us have wanted for years… provincial championship in football is a joke, Ulster aside. You can’t keep the current provincial set up based on one province alone