Italian Tennis Star Fabio Fognini Backtracks After Calling Rafael Nadal a Liar

Fognini has a whole repertoire of controversial remarks, including homophobic slurs at last year's Tokyo Olympics and his call for Wimbledon to be "bombed" in 2019.

Tennis player Fabio Fognini has made an about-face on his accusations against former World No.1 Rafael Nadal in which he had suggested that the Spaniard was "lying" about his abdomen injury at Wimbledon.

On Thursday, the 22-time Grand Slam winner officially pulled out of his semifinal against Australia's Nick Kyrgios.

In a hurriedly-organized press conference, Nadal confirmed that he would not be able to challenge Kyrgios for a place in the final of the Grass Slam after scans showed that he had a seven-millimeter tear in his abdomen.

In June, the King of Clay somehow managed to capture his 14th Roland Garros crown after overcoming an incurable foot injury that has plagued him since his teenage years.

On Wednesday, the 35-year-old Majorcan looked in visible discomfort during his four-hour and 21-minute epic battle against American Taylor Fritz in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, which he eventually won in five sets.

After his victory, Nadal said that he was unsure of his participation in the semis.

Nadal's words, however, weren't taken well by Fognini as the Italian star suggested that the Spaniard was not revealing the truth about the exact status of his physical frailties.

"For sure. Guys stop believe in what you read PLEASE!!!" Fognini wrote in his caption on Instagram, over a picture of an article in which Nadal was talking about his injury.

Fabio Fognini isn’t buying Nadal’s injury. pic.twitter.com/NrvcZACslJ

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) July 7, 2022

As the backlash over his insensitive comments towards Nadal grew on social media, Fognini made a dramatic U-turn about his position on Nadal, blaming the media instead for blowing his words out of the context.

"Dear journalists, I would like to tell you that I have never, ever referred (negatively) to a champion like Rafa. And I could never afford it," Fognini wrote on the popular photo and video sharing platform.

Nevertheless, Nadal's withdrawal from Wimbledon means that his bid for a historic "Calendar Slam" has now come to an end.

Rafa had earlier won the Australian Open and Roland Garros titles this year and was on course to win all four Majors in the year to complete a "Calendar Slam".

Winning all four Majors, namely the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open in a single year is called a Calendar Slam in tennis.

The last man to achieve the feat was the Australian Rod Laver, who did it twice - back in 1962 and 1969.

The legendary Steffi Graf was the last female to accomplish the milestone, when she completed a 'Golden Slam', capturing an Olympic Gold medal and the four Majors - all together in 1988.