The grimaces on the face of Rafael Nadal were the first indication that something was wrong. Then he asked for a trainer to tape his right knee. Then, in the biggest sign of all, he allowed a ball to whiz past him without even a chase.
Then, in a moment of pique with the chair umpire in the second set, Nadal told him that he was going to retire.
A few games later, he did. After spending more than 17 grueling hours on court during the United States Open, his 32-year-old body gave way.
Nadal, the No. 1 seed and defending champion, retired after losing the second set of his semifinal against No. 3 Juan Martín del Potro, who advanced to his first Grand Slam final since he beat Roger Federer to win the U.S. Open in 2009.
Nadal lost the first set, 7-6 (3), and the second, 6-2, before packing it in. He took off his headband and wristbands and went over to del Potro to explain his decision. They hugged, and Nadal walked briskly off the court.
“Of course, it’s not the best way to win a match,” del Potro said in an on-court interview. “I love to play against Rafa because he is the biggest fighter in the sport, and I don’t like to see him suffer like this on court. I am sad for him, but I am also happy for me.”
It was a cruel fate for Nadal, who beat Kevin Anderson in the final a year ago and was aiming for his 18th major title.
“It’s not about losing,” Nadal said of his sadness after the match. “It’s about not having the chance to fight for it.”
He said the injury was the same kind of tendinitis that he has had for most of his career, not a structural problem.
“It’s always very similar when it happens,” he said.
Del Potro, 29, is familiar with the feeling of losing out on trophies because of injuries. He endured multiple wrist operations after he won the Open in 2009, but he is finally getting back to his form of nearly a decade ago.
He will play the winner of the second semifinal, between sixth-seeded Novak Djokovic and 21st-seeded Kei Nishikori.
The key to his semifinal, del Potro said, was the first set, which dragged on for more than an hour. That was the last thing Nadal needed.
The quality of play in the first set was uneven, never more so than when del Potro blew his first opportunity to win the set on his own serve. Leading by 5-4, he tightened and lost two set points. On the second, del Potro hit a forehand into the net for an unforced error, then, at deuce, hit an inside-out forehand wide. Finally, on Nadal’s first break point, del Potro hit a backhand into the net for another unforced error.
He needed to raise his game quickly, and he did. He held his serve to force the tiebreaker and then immediately put pressure on Nadal. With Nadal serving at 3-5 in the tiebreaker, del Potro pushed Nadal wide to his forehand, forcing him to go for the winner down the line. But Nadal did not get quite enough spin on the ball, and it stayed wide.
On this set point, del Potro did not let his nerves sink him. It was Nadal who flinched, hitting a routine backhand into the net as del Potro won the set. It was the third time in this tournament that Nadal had lost the first set.
Nadal was having difficulty with his knee early on. In the first set, he had it taped, then removed the tape after the next changeover. Then after the third game of the second set, he had it taped again.
He spent 15 hours 54 minutes on court leading up to the semifinal, and a big chunk of that came in his epic late-night quarterfinal victory over Dominic Thiem, which lasted 4:49 and ended shortly after 2 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
As Nadal struggled against del Potro, it seemed as if general fatigue and lack of energy might cause Nadal’s ouster. He said he did not sense a return of his chronic knee tendinitis on Thursday when he practiced, or warming up before the match.
He said the discomfort surfaced at a defined moment in the first set, with him serving at 2-2, 15-0, and he told his coaches and supporters in his box.
Nadal was able to compete through the end of the first-set tiebreaker, but in the second set, it was as if del Potro no longer had a real opponent.
“I waited as much as I can,” he said. “You can imagine, it was very difficult to say goodbye. But at some point you have to take a decision. It was so difficult to keep playing that way. I was in too much pain.”
Nadal already had the admiration of tennis fans for his relentless approach to the game and unyielding competitive spirit. But del Potro also is a fan favorite, admired for his gracious demeanor and perseverance through his many wrist problems.
He and Nadal have developed a respect for each other over their 17 head-to-head encounters, with Nadal holding an 11-5 advantage before Friday. But Nadal was so distraught after he pulled out of the match, that he had difficulty saying he was pleased to see del Potro advance.
“I cannot say I am happy, because I am not,” he said. “I will not lie to you. But yes, he is a player who went through a lot of issues during his career, like me, too. I know how tough is this thing.”
Nadal added: “Happy for him that he’s able to get back to the top level. Yeah, wish him all the best. For him, it will be huge if he’s able to win again a Grand Slam.”
Source : NYtimes
