Rafael Nadal's campaign at the Brisbane International came to an end, but his concerns heightened as he appeared to suffer a new injury during his quarter-final defeat to Jordan Thompson on Friday.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion, making a strong comeback after almost a year out due to injury, lost a closely contested match 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-2 in the Australian Open warm-up.
Nadal claimed the first set, showcasing his dominant return to tennis, but Thompson gradually gained momentum. Despite being broken in the initial set, Nadal swiftly bounced back to the applause of the Queensland Tennis Centre crowd, eventually taking the tiebreak.
In an unexpected turn, Thompson fought back to force the match into the deciding set, winning the second set tiebreak even after Nadal had three match points. The Australian then broke Nadal in the third set, and the extended three-and-a-half-hour match took a toll on Nadal, prompting a medical timeout for treatment of a seemingly new injury.
Thompson expressed his joy in his on-court interview, saying, “I completely forgot I saved match points. To beat Rafa at home, in Brisbane in a quarter-final. I think it’s my first semi-final on a hard court as well. I couldn’t be happier.”
Despite declaring himself pain-free the previous day, Nadal had his thigh worked on and showed restricted movement in the deciding set. Nadal managed to win a game as Thompson served for the match, forcing his opponent to smash his racket in frustration. However, Thompson composed himself and denied Nadal a fairytale return from injury.
The match's longest rally confirmed Thompson's place in the semi-finals before Nadal left the court, hoping to recover for the upcoming Grand Slam this month.
Nadal and his team will be optimistic that the medical timeout was merely a precaution, allowing him to continue playing. With the Australian Open looming less than two weeks away, concerns persist about Nadal's fitness for the tournament.