Rafael Nadal kept his hopes of a Calendar Slam alive as he survived a massive scare in his quarter-final match against the American Taylor Fritz.
The Spaniard set up a rematch of the 2022 Indian Wells Masters final against Taylor Fritz after a comfortable win over Biotic van de Zandschulp in the Round of 16. The 22-time Grand Slam champion got off to a strong start as he got a 3-1 lead in the first set. However, the Americans came back strongly to win five games in a row to take the first set 6-3.
The 24-year-old was turning out to be a handful for Nadal even in the second set. The veteran took a medical break due to what seemed an abdomen injury. Fans were concerned about the well-being of the legend. However, Nadal walked back to the court and picked up his racket with renewed vigor. He moved gingerly with a grimace but the power and precision of his shots did not take a backseat. The two-time Grand Slam champion kept the rallies short and eventually won the second set 7-5.
Fritz took the third set with ease but failed to close out the match in a closely-fought fourth set. The experienced campaigner held his nerves in the fifth set to reach his eighth Wimbledon semi-final.
Rafael Nadal has already won the Australian Open and the French Open this year. He would be eager to win his first Wimbledon title after his triumph at the All England Club in 2010.
After his grueling match against Taylor Fritz, Nadal talked about the match and praised his opponent for having a great season during an on-court interview.
“I honestly enjoy a lot playing these kinds of matches in front of all of you guys. I can’t thank everybody enough for the support. It has been a tough afternoon against a great player. So all the credit to Taylor that he has played great during the whole season. For my personal side, it was not an easy match at all so just very happy to be in the semi-finals. Yeah, that’s all.”
He also opened up about his injury which had made everyone nervous.
“The body general fine. Of course in the abdominal something is not going well now being honest. I had to find a way to serve a little different. For a lot of moments, I was thinking I will not be able to finish the match, but I don’t know, the court, the energy is something different so thanks for that.”
Rafael Nadal was asked to give his early thoughts regarding his opponent in the semi-final, Nick Kyrgios. Nadal praised the Australian star player but felt that first, he needed to get physically ready to play the match.
“Well, first thing, I hope to be ready to play. That’s the first thing you know. Then Nick is a great player in all the surfaces but here in grass, he is having a great grass-court season, and going to be a big challenge. I need to be at my 100% to keep having chances and that is what I am going to try to do.”
Nick Kyrgios won his quarter-final match with ease as he made light work of first-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist Cristian Garin. By winning the match, the 27-year-old reached his first Grand Slam semi-final. The semi-final match between Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios promises to be a riveting affair. Tennis fans around the world would hope that Nadal regains full fitness so that the potential mouth-watering clash lives up to its expectation.
The match will take place on July 8. You should not miss the action.
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