Rafael Nadal played through an abdominal injury to beat Taylor Fritz in an absorbing encounter and setup a semi-final showdown at Wimbledon 2022 against Nick Kyrgios.
An injured Rafael Nadal showcased heroic mental strength to edge past Taylor Fritz during a captivating Wimbledon 2022 quarter-final on Wednesday to keep his quest for a calendar-year Grand Slam alive. The Spaniard, who struggled with an abdominal injury, beat the American 3-6 7-5 3-6 7-5 7-6 (10-4) in four hours and 20 minutes to set up a semi-final showdown with Australia's Nick Kyrgios.
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Following this gruelling encounter, the 22-time Grand Slam champion, however, provided no assurance that he would be able to turn up for Friday's clash against Kyrgios, who made it to his first Grand Slam semis after beating Cristian Garín in straight sets on Court 1. "I don't know," said Nadal when asked about his chances of playing the unseeded 27-year-old.
"Honestly, I can't give you a clear answer because if I gave you a clear answer and tomorrow another thing happens, I would be a liar," the Spanish ace added. Nadal took a medical timeout against the 11th-seeded during their quarter-finals outing to get treatment for the injury and said he had to adjust his game to continue playing. The 36-year-old, however, considered retiring many times during the contest.
"I just wanted to give myself a chance. Not easy to leave the tournament, not easy to leave Wimbledon, even if the pain was hard. I don't know. I wanted to finish. I fought. Proud about the fighting spirit and the way that I managed to be competitive under that condition," Nadal remarked.
The Spaniard said he was worried about the injury and that he would undergo more scans before deciding on whether he could continue to compete at the grasscourt major. "I am used to holding pain and playing with problems," said Nadal, who played and won Roland Garros with pain-killing injections before each match and only confirmed his Wimbledon participation after radiofrequency treatment eased the pain in his foot.
"Knowing that, when I feel something like I felt, that is because something is not going the proper way in the abdomen. But let's see. I had these feelings for a couple of days. Without a doubt, today was the worst day, has been an important increase of pain and limitation," Nadal concluded. If the Spaniard bag his third Wimbledon title this year and follows it up with a US Open triumph, he would claim a calendar slam - a feat last achieved in 1969 by Australian great Rod Laver.