Rafael Nadal: stunned in Basel by teenager

Former world number one Rafael Nadal has been knocked out of the Swiss Indoors following a stunning straight sets defeat at the hands of teenage Croatian Borna Coric on Friday.

Hours after the Spaniard pulled out of the BNP Paribas Paris Masters due to personal reasons, 124th ranked Coric held his nerve to inflict a 6-2 7-6 (7/4) win on him in Basel.

17-year old Coric goes on to face David Goffin in the semi-finals while Nadal, who was playing in just his third tournament since Wimbledon, confirmed afterwards that his season was over as he would be having an appendix surgery on November 3.

The nine-time French Open champion Nadal had been playing at Basel despite suffering from appendicitis, with his announcement opening up a spot at the ATP Tour Finals in London.

Nadal, ranked third, had already booked a place at the season-ending event in London, but his withdrawal opens the door for a player ranked ninth on the Tour ranking to replace him.

Currently, Milos Raonic – who also lost his quarterfinal match in Basel – occupies the last qualifying spot to London ahead of David Ferrer and Grigor Dimitrov, giving Ferrer’s semi-final meeting with eighth ranked Andy Murray at the Valencia Open more significance.