After reaching the Round of 16 on Friday, Stan Wawrinka talked to reporters about Rafael Nadal’s injury. The defending Roland Garros champion says many players knew that Nadal was struggling with a wrist injury, but he was surprised by the extent of Nadal’s injury. “We all saw photographs where he was touching his wrist or his wrist was hurting,” Wawrinka said. “It was no big secret. But then again, it is a surprise because no one knew how much it hurt. It's unfortunate for the tournament, for the fans, for tennis.”

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The two-time major champion says he hopes that Nadal caught the problem early enough, and that it doesn’t end up becoming a long-term issue.

“It's very tough for him, because wrists are fragile things, and I hope that he's managed to stop in time to get this fixed,” he said. “I know how much an injury is difficult, and I'm always sad when such champions need to retire from a competition. These types of people are great for tennis, in general.”

No. 2 seed Andy Murray was also aware of Nadal’s injury. “I practiced a bit with him last week and I knew there were some issues with the wrist,” Murray told Eurosport on Friday. “He's won this nine times and was playing really well so for him to withdraw from the tournament, it would have to be a pretty serious injury. It's a great shame for Rafa and the fans and a shame for the tournament.”