French and Australia Open champion, Rafael Nadal, fought back through pains to defeat Taylor Fritz in five sets thriller to reach the semi-final of the All England Club event.
Nadal, in the course of processing the match, took a medical break to attend to his injury which resulted in Fritz dominating the first and third sets.
However, the 36-year-old, who is on the verge of completing a Grand Slam calendar year, won the match 3-6 7-5 3-6 7-5 7-6 (10-4) amid an injury scare to slate a semifinal contest with Australian Nick Kyrgios.
In a post-match interview, Nadal who had a strapping in his abdomen in his previous match said he does not know what is wrong with the abdominal part of his body. The Trumpet Gathered
Though the Spaniard in awe was in disbelief that he could finish the match on a winning note with cheers from the crowd that boosted his victory.
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“The body, in general, is fine, but in the abdominal [area] something is not going well, being honest. I had to find a way to serve a little bit different,” Nadal said after the victory at the Enthralled Centre Court.
“For a lot of moments I was thinking I would not be able to finish the match but the crowd, the energy, thanks for that,” he appreciated.
More so, the abdominal issue that affected Nadal against Fritz had already disturbed him in his fourth-round match and while he now has 24 hours to be fit, it remains to be seen what the impact of this gruelling encounter will have on his chances in the semi-final against an in-form Kyrgios.
Nadal continued: “I hope to be ready to play it.”
“Nick is a great player on all the surfaces but especially on grass. He’s having a great grass-court season. I need to be at 100% to keep having chances,” added the record-fourteen French Open title winner.
According to stats by British media, the pair have met two times at SW19 before, with the Aussie stunning Nadal in the fourth round in 2014 on his debut season before meeting again five years later.
