- Spaniard faces Kyrgios in semi after 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) win
- Nadal: ‘The abdominal is not going well, it was not easy at all’
Taylor Fritz, 6ft 5in of towering American self-belief, did his best to bury a wounded legend here on Wednesday, but the 36-year-old Rafael Nadal would not stay down – against the advice of his worried father – and prevailed over five fluctuating sets to reach his eighth Wimbledon semi-final. He is a win against Nick Kyrgios away from the final – possibly for a 60th time against Novak Djokovic – and the chance to win his third grand slam title on the spin. What a year he’s had.
Fritz almost had him in the fourth set but could not finish it and Nadal made him pay, winning 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) in 4hr 20min, the fourth-longest match of the championships.
Written by Kevin Mitchell at Wimbledon
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jul/06/rafael-nadal-plays-through-pain-to-beat-taylor-fritz-in-five-sets under the title “Rafael Nadal defies pain and his father’s pleas to quit in epic win over Taylor Fritz”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
