Grimacing in pain due to an abdominal injury, unable to play his usual style of play, Rafael Nadal wondered if he was going to have to give up in the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon tournament.
In the stands of the Central, his father motioned to the holder of 22 Grand Slam titles to give up. Unsurprisingly, his son did not listen to him. He adjusted his serve and strategy and found a way to win.
With the crowd behind him for each of his shots, Nadal overcame Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 and 7-6 (4) after a four-hour duel and 20 minutes to qualify for an eighth four at the All England Club.
“Several times I thought maybe I wouldn’t be able to finish the game,” Nadal said.
He will participate in his 38th semi-final in major tournaments, at the same time depriving the American of reaching this stage for the first time.
Nadal was unwilling to discuss his injury, which forced him off the field in the company of an athletic therapist when he was up 4-3 in the second set. When he came back, he was clearly weakened, letting the second set slip away and the balls he usually chases.
“A tough afternoon,” he admitted. Something is wrong with my abs. »
Still, he saved the best for last, building a 5-0 super break lead en route to a 10-4 victory.
The Spaniard will find Nick Kyrgios, who defeated Chile’s Cristian Garin 6-4, 6-3 and 7-6 (5) on Court No 1. This is the best result of Kyrgios, 40th player in the world, at Wimbledon in his career . He had reached the quarter-finals in his first participation, in 2014.
The other semi-final will pit favorite Novak Djokovic against No. 9 seed Cameron Norrie.
With this victory, the champion on the British lawn in 2008 and 2010 thus joined another former champion at Wimbledon, Simona Halep, in the semi-finals.
Halep didn’t have to overcome such a tough challenge as ‘Rafa’, easily beating American Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 6-4 in the quarter-finals. The 16th seed ended the game on center court after just one hour and three minutes of play.
The Romanian is eyeing a second Wimbledon title, having triumphed there in 2019. Halep has missed the opportunity to defend her title twice: first in 2020, when the tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, then again in 2021, due to a left calf injury.
“I had a lot of trouble last year,” Halep admitted, “and I’m just trying to rebuild my confidence. »
She will now face 17th seed Elena Rybakina, who joined her in the semis minutes later after working much harder.
The Kazakh, who is taking part in Wimbledon for the second time in her career, came from behind to defeat Australian Alja Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-2 and 6-3 after an hour and 51 minutes on the short no 1.
Halep is competing at Wimbledon for the 10th time, and she has reached the semi-finals for the third time.
“I’m very emotional right now, because getting to the semis was very important to me,” Halep said.
The match against Anisimova was one-sided, as were her first four Wimbledon victories — they were all in straight sets. The 20th-seeded American broke Halep as she served for the match at 5-2.
Anisimova then had three more break points against Halep as she served at 5-4, but the Romanian won five points in a row to seal the game.
“She was smashing the ball late in the game, and to be honest, I didn’t know what to do anymore,” Halep said. But I believe in my means. I knew I had to hang in there, and rely on my footwork. »
Halep suffered a calf injury over a year ago, forcing her to withdraw from the French Open and Wimbledon. She started working with Patrick Mouratoglou, ex-trainer of Serena Williams, in April.