Rafael Nadal overcame an injury to beat Taylor Fritz and reach the Wimbledon semifinals 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.