Rafael Nadal Defies Injury To Reach Eighth Wimbledon Semi-final, Defeats Taylor Fritz In Five Sets

07.07.2022 - 06:03 sports.ndtv.com

Rafael Nadal overcame an injury to beat Taylor Fritz and reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for an eighth time on Wednesday, keeping alive his dream of a calendar Grand Slam.

The second seed lost the first set and had to take a medical time-out in the second but raised his game to win 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10/4) in a match lasting four hours and 21 minutes.

Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, will play maverick Australian Nick Kyrgios for a place in Sunday's final. He admitted he was suffering from an abdominal problem. "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," said the Spaniard. "I honestly enjoy a lot playing these kind of matches in front of you guys.

I can't thank you enough for the support." A pumped-up Nadal raced out of the blocks to take a 3-1 lead but then lost five straight games to the 11th seed to lose the first set.

tennis wimbledon 2022 FIVE Semi-final Rafael Nadal Taylor Fritz Usa Australia

Rafael Nadal said on Thursday his decision to withdraw from Wimbledon, due to an abdominal injury, was “out of respect to myself”. “I made my decision because I believe that I can't win two matches under these circumstances. I can't serve,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion said while announcing his pullout a day ahead of his much-anticipated semifinal clash with Australian Nick Kyrgios. “It's not only that I can't serve at the right speed, it's that I can't do the normal movement to serve.” “I have to say that, for respect to myself in some way, I don't want to go out there, not be competitive enough to play at the level that I need to play to achieve my goal, and with a big chance to make the things much worse, no? “As I always said, for me the most important thing is happiness more than any title, even if everybody knows how much effort I put to be here. But I can't risk that match and stay two, three months outside of the competition because that's going to be a tough thing for me.”

Wimbledon - 'Very sad' Rafael Nadal explains decision to withdraw before semi-final with Nick Kyrgios

Rafael Nadal has given his reaction after he was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon ahead of his semi-final clash with Nick Kyrgios due to his abdominal tear. Nadal practised at the All England Club on Thursday ahead of the last-four clash with the Australian, but he then called a press conference for the evening in which he confirmed that he had been forced to pull out. Ad/> It has been reported in the Spanish press that medical tests revealed he suffered a seven-millimetre tear in one of his abdominal muscles during the quarter-final against Taylor Fritz.

Rafael Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon semi-final with abdominal injury

Rafael Nadal's hopes of completing a rare calendar year Grand Slam ended on Thursday when the Spaniard pulled out of his highly-anticipated Wimbledon semi-final showdown with Australian Nick Kyrgios with an abdominal strain. "I have to pull out of the tournament as I have been suffering with pain in abdominal," said the 36-year-old, the holder of a men's record 22 Grand Slam titles. "I can't imagine winning two matches with this (pain). For me the most important thing is happiness rather than the title even though everyone knows how much effort I put into this as I can't risk being out of the sport for two to three months.

Rafael Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon semi-final against Nick Kyrgios due to injury

Rafael Nadal has pulled out of his Wimbledon semi-final against Nick Kyrgios due to his abdominal injury, handing the Australian a walkover bye into Sunday’s final.