Rafael Nadal injury: Andy Roddick dismisses calls to reinstate Taylor Fritz

Rafael Nadal's hopes of winning the calendar Grand Slam was extinguished late on Thursday night after the Spaniard was forced to withdraw from the Wimbledon Championships.

The number two seed confirmed an abdominal tear suffered during his epic five-set win over Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals. Nadal pushed through the pain barrier to overcome the American, but scans after the game showed significant injury, which did not allow him to practice the following day.

The 36-year-old's withdrawal came as a shock, especially as it gave Australian Nick Kyrgios a free pass into his first Grand Slam final. A number of experts called for Fritz to be reinstated as Kyrgios' semifinal opponent, but former Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick explained why this can't happen.

To start with, the former world number one stated that a player cannot lose in the quarterfinals and then go on to win a Grand Slam, which could be the case if Fritz was reinstated. Moreover, he feels Nadal did nothing wrong by playing through the pain barrier and beating the American only to withdraw a day later.

"No no no no no. You can't lose in the quarters [sic] and win a slam. No," Roddick said to the above statement by New York Times' Christopher Clarey.

"If they want to ..... you're asking a player to self diagnose an injury in real time. That's not realistic," the former world number one responded to another expert's view that Nadal should have retired rather than go on in the match against Fritz.

"No .... he should've tried to win and then hoped that the scans weren't that bad and that he could recover. They weren't and he can't. Not his job to protect the other players," Roddick added, backing Nadal's decision to continue playing against Fritz.

Even Fritz, who will see Kyrgios become the first player in the Open Era to get a walkover into the Wimbledon final, also agreed that he did not deserve a place in the semifinals. The American does not want handouts, and feels he should have beaten Nadal to earn his place.