The Spanish warrior finally listened to his head - or rather, his body - over his heart. It's a good start if he hopes to continue to play tennis for years to come.
The world's No. 3-ranked Rafael Nadal decided he'd had enough of 2014 on Friday, after losing in the quarterfinals of Swiss Indoor on Friday to 17-year-old Crotian Borna Coric. The 14-time Grand Slam champion announced he'll have season-ending surgery for appendicitis next week.
Rafael Nadal trying to play through appendicitis and compete in the ATP World Tour Finals
The 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) loss to Coric allowed the 28-year-old Nadal to assess his game and determine his status.
"I'm not going to Paris and London - I'm not competitive enough," the nine-time French Open champion said, according to bbc.com. "I am going to have surgery on 3 November."
Injuries to force Rafael Nadal to retire before Roger Federer?
The Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland was just Nadal's third tournament since Wimbledon. He suffered a wrist injury that forced him out of the U.S. Open. He then revealed that he has been taking antibiotics to combat his appendicitis, in hopes of playing in the ATP World Tour Championships next month in London.
He had a 4-3 record since Wimbledon and has fallen behind Roger Federer in the world rankings.
BBC.com proceeded to give a brief description of what it labeled as Coric's "stunning" victory, also briefly forgetting that Nadal is suffering from appendicitis.
Now, Nadal has to figure out how to take better care of his body to avoid further breakdowns and interruptions to his seasons.
2014 was another injury-plagued season for Nadal, who started off suffering a back injury during the finals of the Australian Open during his five-set loss to Stanislaus Wawrinka. That led to an uneven clay-court season, in which he lost three matches on his best surface and could've lost a fourth had Kei Nishikori not suffered an injury during the finals of the Madrid Open in April.
Nadal rebounded to win the French Open but lost in the fourth round of Wimbledon to Australian teen Nick Kyrgios.
The Spaniard hurt his wrist while training on July 29, forcing his withdrawal from the U.S. Open.
Nadal remains the best clay-court player in the world, and theoretically could schedule his season around the French Open. His nine titles at Roland Garros already are a record, and if he just focused on that even and won three more times, he would tie Roger Federer for the most Grand Slams all-time (that is, if Federer doesn't win any more).
But conservatism doesn't seem to be at the forefront of Nadal's thought process. Unfortunately, his aggression may prevent him from catching Federer and claiming the title of "Greatest of All Time."
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