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MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 10: Andy Murray of Great Britain shakes hands at the net after his straight sets victory against Rafael Nadal of Spain in the mens final during day nine of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 10, 2015 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
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MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 10: Andy Murray of Great Britain shakes hands at the net after his straight sets victory against Rafael Nadal of Spain in the mens final during day nine of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 10, 2015 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Andy Murray has spoken up for Rafael Nadal after the Spaniard decided to withdraw from the Wimbledon Championship citing health issues. Andy Murray described it as a shame that a player of his stature will not be playing in the tournament.
Rafael Nadal lost out to Novak Djokovic in the French Open semifinal, missing out on a record 14th Roland Garros final. The Spaniard has been suffering with several knee injuries since 2019. He has decided to look at the long-term approach of his career, before withdrawing from the Wimbledon Championship.
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Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – June 11, 2021 Spain’s Rafael Nadal in action during his semi final match against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
Andy Murray vs Rafael Nadal: Mutual admiration
Andy Murray was in complete agreement with Nadal’s withdrawal. The Scott is of the opinion that many tennis players find the bubble life difficult, and hence understood El Nino’s decision. “Yeah, like still like this year is hard. With the bubbles and everything, you know, you need to be right into it and be prepared to sort of go through that for ? a lot of the players are finding it difficult,” said Murray in his post match interview.
Andy Murray lost his second round match at the Queen’s Club Championship against Matteo Berrettini. The Italian won comfortably in straight sets, 6-3,6-3.
Rafael Nadal has also withdrawn from the Tokyo Olympic Games next month. Murray thought it is shameful, as the Spaniard will not be playing the two most prestigious tournaments to exist. “Obviously it?s a shame, shame for him, shame for the tournaments,” said Murray.
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Hi all, I have decided not to participate at this year’s Championships at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Tokyo. It’s never an easy decision to take but after listening to my body and discuss it with my team I understand that it is the right decision
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 17, 2021
Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal have never had a fierce rivalry between them, with the Spaniard enjoying a 17-7 lead in the head-to-head record against the Scott.
Andy Murray has had an injury prone career since 2017. The two time Olympic Gold medalist has been suffering a hip injury, and has been in and out of the scene with tournaments. A player of his stature will surely empathize with Nadal and his decisions.
Athletes have to play numerous tournaments all year long. The resting period is very short, taking the traveling time and period into consideration. The muscles can be sore sometimes, and not taking proper rest will result in long time injury for the player. The gap between the French Open and the Wimbledon Championship is of only two weeks. The time to recover for such a major event is way too less.
What do you feel about Nadal’s decision?
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