Nadal in race to be fit for Wimbledon semis as Djokovic targets 8th final

LONDON: Rafael Nadal is facing a race against time to be fit for Friday's mouthwatering Wimbledon semi-final against Nick Kyrgios but can either man stop Novak Djokovic in his relentless push for a fourth straight crown? A meeting between 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal and the mercurial Australian has been on the cards since Kyrgios defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in an ill-tempered third-round meeting. Kyrgios cruised through his last-eight match against unseeded Chilean Cristian Garin on Wednesday in straight sets to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.

But it was a different story for Nadal, who had to battle an abdominal injury in a gruelling five-set win against 11th-seeded American Taylor Fritz. The second seed, visibly in pain, looked unlikely to finish the match when he was forced to take a medical time-out in the second set.

But he returned to the court and twice recovered from a set down to win in four hours and 21 minutes The extra time on court for Nadal -- two hours longer than Kyrgios -- is a factor in itself but the Spaniard's injury raises the prospect that he may not even be fit enough to play. Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 champion, said he was unsure over his ongoing participation in the tournament as he targets the third leg of a rare calendar Grand Slam.

"I can't give you a clear answer because if I gave you a clear answer and tomorrow another thing happens, I will be a liar," the 36-year-old said after his quarter-final win. If the two do meet on Centre Court, it would be the standout tie of the tournament so far in a year when many of the top seeds have fallen by the wayside early.