Rafael Nadal’s 2022 Grand Slam story served up another dramatic chapter on Wednesday at Wimbledon, where the Spaniard held off a high-powered performance from Taylor Fritz to reach the semi-finals in London.

The 22-time major champion Nadal left the court for a medical timeout in the second set and appeared to be struggling with an abdominal issue midway through the pair’s four-hour, 20-minute quarter-final encounter. Yet the second seed showcased trademark resilience, raising his aggression to keep points short and producing a high-class deciding-set tie-break to seal a 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(10-4) victory.

“It was a tough afternoon against a great player,” said Nadal in his on-court interview. “All the credit to Taylor, he has been playing great during the whole season. From my personal side, it was not an easy match at all, so I’m just very happy to be in the semi-finals.

“The body in general is fine. In the abdominal [area] it is not going well, being honest. I had to find a way to serve a little bit differently, for a lot of moments I was thinking maybe I would not be able to finish the match, but I don’t know. The court, the energy [helped me].”

Nadal, who won the Australian Open in January and Roland Garros in June, is seeking to keep his bid for the 2022 Grand Slam alive at the grass-court major. His next assignment in London is a semi-final with Nick Kyrgios, after the Australian was a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5) winner in his quarter-final matchup against Cristian Garin.

“I hope to be ready to play,” said Nadal. “Nick is a great player on all surfaces, but especially here on grass. He’s having a great grass-court season and it’s going to be a big challenge. I need to be at 100% to keep having chances and that’s what I am going to try to do.”

Fritz reeled off five games in a row from 1-3 to clinch the first set as Nadal’s physical struggles undermined what had been a bright start from the Spaniard on Centre Court. Yet despite Nadal still appearing in discomfort, particularly when serving, after his medical time-out at 4-3 in the second set, the second seed stayed aggressive to break Fritz’s serve twice and level the match.

Fritz, bidding to become the youngest American man to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon since Andy Roddick in 2005, looked to have regained control of the match after he capitalised on some uncharacteristic Nadal errors to break twice and ease to the third set. More solid groundstrokes earned him another break in the opening game of the fourth, but the Spaniard’s tactic of going for his shots continued to pay off as he came out on top in a topsy-turvy fourth set that featured five breaks of serve.

The match remained in the balance throughout an engrossing final set, but it was Nadal who raised his game under the pressure of the deciding-set tie-break. He raced to a 5/0 lead that proved unassailable, sealing a marathon win to avenge his loss to Fritz in the BNP Paribas Open final in Indian Wells in March.

Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz put on a show on Wednesday evening at Wimbledon, with the Spaniard prevailing in a five-set thriller to reach his eighth Wimbledon semi-final.

While the pair exchanged blows on Centre Court, a vocal crowd watched on in support, gasping in astonishment at the shotmaking that was on display at SW19. After the clash, ATPTour.com spoke to some of the lucky fans who had witnessed Nadal clinch another memorable victory on the lawns in London.

“I thought it was absolutely amazing,” said Andre Richards [below right], aged 63 from London. “When it started we thought it was going to be Taylor’s match. Then as it went on it was so even. Over the 35 years I have been coming, that was there with the Nadal and Roger Federer final that I went to in 2008. Nadal and Federer was probably the greatest match ever and that match tonight really rivals it. It was amazing.”

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Babs Smith from Lincolnshire, England, watched the match donned out in fancy dress. For her, the victory meant a lot.

“What a match. I was chuffed for Nadal. It was point for point. The atmosphere was crazy and enthralling throughout,” Babs [below left] said. “Anybody could have won and nobody deserves to lose but experience came through on the day. Nadal is a legend and we are so happy.”

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With fans attending The Championships from around the world, Nadal’s epic victory made the trip extra special for Trixie White from the Philippines and Harrison Bell from Texas, United States.

“I feel so fortunate to have been here today,” first-time visitor Trixie [below right] said. “It was my birthday gift from my partner [Gwyn, below left]. It was so intense, I couldn’t relax when watching. I was so nervous for Rafa. I couldn’t breathe at one point, I had to put my oils on. The energy in the crowd was amazing. It is my first time here and what a great match. I was just thinking, ‘I can’t believe I am watching Nadal!’. I have never been in a crowd like this and it was so amazing and electric.”

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“I was rooting for Nadal and I was so happy for the ending,” said 18-year-old Harrison [below]. “It was so close. I had my moments where I was questioning if he would come through, but he delivered. It was my first time watching him, I am a big fan.”

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While the crowds roared the players on, Sue Jones from Oxfordshire said that she watched on in amazement as she tried to comprehend what she was witnessing.

“I don’t know how they do it. I don’t know how they have got the stamina, the determination to get through those tight situations,” Sue said. “I thought Nadal would win it, but I didn’t know how because he was always coming from behind. He always finds a way and he used his experience to come through. It was a fabulous match.”

For Puneed Jed from India, Nadal’s victory made his week.

“Unbelievable! What more could you want. From the end of the third set, Nadal never let Fritz get away. It was an amazing match,” said the 34-year-old Puneed [below left]. “What else could you want than seeing Nadal in that form. After Australian Open, Roland Garros and now Wimbledon, I hope for a calendar Grand Slam. Loads of people were cheering for Rafa. He made everyone’s day and my week.”

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Top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury are through to the Wimbledon semi-finals for the second straight year following a dramatic, five-set victory Wednesday at The Championships. The American-British pairing outlasted 12th seeds Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.

Ram-Salisbury sealed victory with their fourth break of the match in its final game, confirming their progress to their seventh Grand Slam semi-final as a team, all since 2020. Champions at the 2020 Australian Open and the 2021 US Open, the pair is bidding for its first final at doubles World No. 1 Salisbury’s home major.

The top seeds created the bulk of the chances in the three-hour, 17-minute contest, finishing four-of-nine on break points while dropping serve just once on three break points against. But their French opponents dominated the second-set tie-break and capitalised on their lone break of the match in the fourth set to force a decider on No. 2 Court.

Late in the second set, Ram-Salisbury thought they earned a break of serve to move ahead 6-5, but a successful challenge saw the call overturned, giving the Frenchmen new life. While Mahut and Roger-Vasselin used that momentum to run away with the ensuing tie-break, Ram-Salisbury snapped back to take the first five games of the third set.

After surviving the five-set test, Ram-Salisbury will meet 14th seeds Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell in a rematch of this year’s Australian Open semi-finals. The Australians won that match 6-3, 7-6(9) before falling to countrymen Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios in the final.

Ebden/Purcell— who won three five-setters to open their Wimbledon campaign — enjoyed straightforward progress in their Wednesday quarter-final.

They eased past seventh seeds John Peers and Filip Polasek 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to reach their fifth tour-level final of the season. Ebden/Purcell converted on four of their nine break chances in the match while saving all six break points against them.

Both semi-finalists are seeking their second tour-level titles of the season. Ebden/Purcell were victorious in Houston, claiming their first ATP Tour title as a team in April, while Ram/Salisbury won the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters later that same month. The top seeds have won six tour-level titles since teaming up in 2019.

For a little over an hour on Tuesday, Rafael Nadal practised on Court 16 at Wimbledon with his sights set on his next encounter; Wednesday’s quarter-final against Taylor Fritz. Accompanied by Francisco Roig and Marc Lopez, his two coaches, the 22-time Grand Slam champion was working hard to keep alive his chances of reclaiming a title he won in 2008 and 2010.

“It’s good,” Roig told ATPTour.com after the training session. “We managed to train a lot, there were a couple of days when we almost played for four hours. When we got here, the first thing was to be able to compete. He arrived here unsure about his foot treatment in Mallorca, even though it went well for him.

“The goal was to keep playing better every day. Now we’re in that situation. Given how last-minute it was, we can be happy after three years without playing on grass. So far, we’re doing well. When we arrived, we weren’t thinking about winning, but now he is among the favourites.”

To stay on track for a third Wimbledon crown, Nadal must next move past Fritz, with whom he shares a 1-1 ATP Head2Head record. In March, the American defeated the Spaniard in the final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, a match in which Nadal played with a rib fracture that subsequently kept him out of action until the Mutua Madrid Open in early May.

“Taylor is a player that was very promising,” said Roig. “Today, his game has progressed a lot, he’s had his best results quite recently. Now he hits the ball quite well, and maybe before he struggled with mobility. Today he moves much better and that’s why his ranking has gone up. He’s very dangerous on grass, he hits the ball hard. We’ll have to have a great day.”

Roig, though, is satisfied with the progress Nadal has made in his last two matches, straight-sets victories against Lorenzo Sonego and Botic van de Zandschulp.

“I think he’s looked really good in the last two matches, although he struggled to close them out,” Roig said. “There was a big difference in the level of ball striking, in dominating, going forward. The more he goes to the net, the better he’ll hit the ball.

“Everything you do can always be done better, especially on grass. We’re working on things every day, facets that will increase his chances on court.

“You do things to improve. That is what we’re trying on our day off. We’re on grass and we need to improve things. We’re working on specific things that he may see in the match so that when he has to execute them, he is confident because he’s practised them.”

– This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es