Nick Kyrgios has made it into the final of Wimbledon after Rafael Nadal had to withdraw with injury on the eve of their semi-final match.
The Spaniard Nadal was due to play the Australian on Friday but has pulled out because of a torn abdominal muscle.
"Unfortunately, as you can imagine, if I am here, it's because I have to pull out from the tournament," Nadal said during a news conference at the All England Club on Thursday.
Kyrgios now advances to his first final at a major tournament. He will meet either Novak Djokovic or Cameron Norrie for the championship on Sunday.
The seriousness of Nadal's latest injury had been called into question as the veteran warrior fought to be fit for the much-anticipated showdown with Kyrgios.
Nadal appeared to adjust his serving motion during a practice session at the All England Club on match eve.
The 22-times grand slam champion had overcome a painful abdominal strain to battle back from two sets to one down against American Taylor Fritz in Wednesday's quarter-finals.
But that didn't stop Italian Fabio Fognini casting doubt about the level of Nadal's fitness.
"Guys stop believe in what you read PLEASE !!!" Fognini posted on Instagram under a headline lauding Nadal's heroic quarter-final victory.
Nadal, though appeared close to retiring from his quarter-final, his serve speed dropping drastically from the end of the second set before the two-time Wimbledon champion needed a medical time-out to carry on.
Nine wins away from becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete the calendar-year grand slam, the reigning Australian Open and French Open champion said after beating Fritz he wasn't sure if he'd be able to play Kyrgios.
"Something more important than winning Wimbledon, that is the health. Let's see how this is going," Nadal said after even his family pleaded with the indomitable champion to quit against Fritz.
"They told me I need to retire the match," Nadal shrugged.
"I tried. For me, was tough to retire in the middle of the match. Not easy even if I had that idea for such a long time.
"I did it a couple of times in my tennis career. Is something that I hate to do. So I just keep trying - and that's it.
"Not easy to leave the tournament. Not easy to leave Wimbledon, even if the pain was hard."
Australian Associated Press
