American tennis star Taylor Fritz says he "doesn't deserve" to face Nick Kyrgios in the semi-finals of Wimbledon following Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from the tournament.
Nadal, 36, battled through the pain of an abdominal injury to beat Fritz, 24, over five sets in their quarter-final on Wednesday.
Nadal was due to face Kyrgios in their semi-final on Friday but 22-time Grand Slam champion was forced to pull out of the match through injury, handing the fiery Australian a bye into Sunday's final.
Following the news of Nadal's withdrawal, fans were quick to suggest Fritz should take his place in the last four.
When the world No 14 took to social media on Thursday to thank fans for their support during the tournament, one user suggested that competition organisers "should have let you go forward".
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Fritz responded: "Nah not looking for handouts, if I couldn't beat him [Nadal] then I don't deserve to be in the semis...simple as that."
Nadal confirmed on Thursday that he had been forced to pull out of the tournament because of the abdominal injury.
"As everyone saw yesterday I have been suffering with a pain in the abdominal and something was not okay there. That is confirmed, I have a tear in the muscle and the communication is too late,” said the Spaniard.
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"I was thinking the whole day I was thinking about the decision to make but I think it doesn’t make sense to go, even if I try through my career to keep going.
"It is very tough circumstances but it is obvious if I keep going the injury will be worse and worse."
Kyrgios has previously clashed with Nadal but the Australian sent his opponent a message of support following the news of his withdrawal.
"Different players, different personalities. @rafaelnadal I hope your recovery goes well and we all hope to see you healthy soon 🗣🙏🏽 till next time…", Kyrgios wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of him shaking hands with Nadal.
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Kyrgios, 27, is now through to the first Grand Slam singles final of his career.
He will face either defending champion Novak Djokovic or British No 1 Cameron Norrie, who meet in the other semi-final on Friday.
Topics: Wimbledon, Tennis, Rafael Nadal, Nick Kyrgios
Rory O'Callaghan