Rafael Nadal’s Injury Makes Novak Djokovic Even Bigger Wimbledon 2022 Favorite

A torn abdominal muscle has forced Rafael Nadal to withdraw from Wimbledon prior to Friday’s semifinal match against Nick Kyrgios. Even though Kyrgios gets an automatic spot in the Wimbledon final, Nadal’s injury has turned Novak Djokovic into a massive favorite to win the championship.

Djokovic was already the clear Wimbledon betting favorite when the tournament was down to four players. Now that Djokovic definitely won’t have to face Nadal in the final, his odds to win Wimbledon have improved from -350 to -400 at BetMGM.

Cameron Norrie will try to upset Djokovic in Friday’s semifinal match. Norrie is a +750 underdog against Djokovic, who has -1400 odds to reach the final. Norrie has +2200 odds to defeat both Djokovic and Kyrgios for an improbable Grand Slam title.

Kyrgios has +300 odds to win Wimbledon. When he was set to face Nadal, Kyrgios had +450 championship odds. The 27-year-old will play in a Grand Slam final for the first time in his career.

As he was considering facing Kyrgios in the semifinals with his abdominal tear, Nadal had +750 Wimbledon odds.

"I made my decision because I believe that I can't win two matches under these circumstances," Nadal told reporters Thursday. "I can't serve. [It's] not only that I can't serve at the right speed, it's that I can't do the normal movement to serve.

"I have to say that, imagine myself winning two matches, and for respect to myself in some way, I don't want to go out there, not be competitive enough to play at the level that I need to play to achieve my goal, and with a big chance to make the things much worse, no?"

Nadal won the first two Grand Slams of 2022, setting the all-time record with 22 Grand Slam championships. Djokovic didn’t compete at the Australian Open, and he was beaten by Nadal in the French Open quarterfinals.

Djokovic has won each of the last three Wimbledon championships, giving him six career titles at the All England Club.