Rafael Nadal defies injury to setup blockbuster Wimbledon semi-final against Nick Kyrgios

Rafael Nadal set the ball rolling early. In the press conference after his win in the fourth round, the Spaniard was asked what he thought about his loss to Taylor Fritz at Indian Wells.

His answer, “What I learned about the match against Fritz was zero because I had a stress fracture on my rib… and the pain was terrible.”

It showed he would be out set the record straight.

As things turned out, another injury had a huge role to play in the Wimbledon quarterfinal on Wednesday that had a strange vibe to it. However, at the end of the match which was a five-set rollercoaster, we were once again saluting the sheer heart that drives Nadal. Knee, foot, abdomen–the list of injuries seems endless but through it all, he endures; he makes us root for him and he shows us the value of fighting even when the chips seem irreversibly down.

The depth of Nadal’s resilience is almost unfathomable and if you needed a reminder of that, the 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) win was ample evidence.

Now, Fritz is a good player but the question at the start of the match was whether he would be able to handle a charged up Rafa? And for the first 14 minutes of the match, it looked like he couldn’t. The American playing his first match on Centre Court and his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, was broken in the first game and Nadal’s shots were eliciting ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the crowd.

Fritz slowly found his composure and then in the sixth game of the match, he drew level. Some heavy hitting earned the American three breakpoints but Nadal made it deuce before the 24-year-old closed it out.

And then once again, the depth of Fritz’s returns earned him two breakpoints and he needed just one as Nadal committed a double fault. Fritz had not lost a set in the tournament and he was just starting to show why.

An ace helped Fritz win the first set 6-3. He had won five games in a row and Nadal was left looking a little shell-shocked. That can sometimes be a mere invitation for the Spaniard to take things up a gear.

The left-hander jumped to a 3-0 lead to start the second set but then just as he had in the first set, Fritz caught up to make it 3-3.

Nadal came up with a tough hold to stem the rot and make it 4-3. However, he then called a trainer out and went off the court to get some strapping done. The abdomen injury, which the 36-year-old did not want to discuss after his last match, was clearly bothering him.

He came back and was clearly trying to keep the points short. A couple of powerful forehands helped him stay ahead even as he waited for the painkillers to kick in.

Fritz, on his part, was trying to stay in the moment. Not trying to overthink but two big forehand misses by the American gave Nadal a set point and that was all the Spaniard needed to take it 7-5.

Fritz was dominating and looking confident before the injury break but he just seemed to go off the boil a little just as the adrenaline starting kicking in for Nadal.

Nadal’s average serve speed wasn’t great. He just seemed to be rolling the ball in and grimacing as he did it but Fritz wasn’t quite able to punish him.

A double fault by Nadal gave Fritz the first break of the third set but then the American too called a trainer on court to get his left thigh taped. It wasn’t too serious though and the break was what he needed to take the set 6-3 for a two-set to one lead.

The fourth set saw Nadal start with a break as Fritz messed up his shot selection but the American broke back right away to get things back on serve. But the Spaniard continued to fight hard and countered with another break, his backhand slice forcing the long forehand.

Fritz hung in there, and finally levelled things at 4-4 and then came up with a fantastic hold to put himself one game away from the semi-final. Nadal, though, held on and then got a break before serving out the set.

Leading into the fifth set, the match had seen 13 breaks of serve (seven for Fritz; six for Nadal) but it wasn’t until 3-3 that the Spaniard had the first opportunities to even the tally. Fritz saved the first with a big serve and then saw a lucky net cord help him make it deuce. However, Nadal eventually prevailed to go up 4-3.

Fritz broke back soon enough and the set went into the tie-breaker, where Nadal jumped to a 5-0 lead and eventually closed it out 10-4. It was a remarkable effort. One that perhaps only the Spaniard could have pulled off.