News24, South Africa
June 6 2006
Muscle injury halts Nalbandian
09/06/2006 17:52 – (SA)
Paris – David Nalbandian will await medical tests before deciding
when to begin his grass-court season after injuring abdominal muscles
and quitting against Roger Federer in their French Open semi-final on
Friday.
The Swiss moved through 3-6 6-4 5-2 as Nalbandian retired after just
over 90 minutes of play.
“It’s impossible to know, I have to see a doctor and then we make a
decision what to do,” the Argentine said of his chances of fronting
for the Halle event in Germany which starts on Monday.
Nalbandian, third in the world, has had trouble with his abdominals
before.
He said this current injury occurred in his quarter-final against
Nikolay Davydenko. He went to the court feeling fine for the Federer
clash, but things soon deteriorated.
“I started well, much better than during the previous match,” said
the third seed. “I played a set and a half very well, and I didn’t
feel the pain at all.
“But all of a sudden, I felt a very sharp pain that was worse than
during the previous match.”
Nalbandian is well-acquainted with the problem. “This injury, I’ve
already had two or three times already.
“Normally it happens in very long tournaments with very tough matches
with many sets, where I spend a lot of time on court. You feel very
bitter about it, having to retire like that, with that type of
problem.”