| Venue: All England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July |
| Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. |
Rafael Nadal fought through injury to come from behind to beat Taylor Fritz and reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.
The Spaniard, who had a medical timeout at the end of the second set and struggled with his movement for long spells, won 3-6 7-5 3-6 7-5 7-6 (10-4).
It keeps Nadal’s bid for a calendar Grand Slam on track and sets up a semi-final against Nick Kyrgios.
Nadal, who had strapping on his abdomen in his previous match, was bothered by the same issue again.
The first question he faced after the forehand winner that sealed victory, in a match that at one point he looked like he might not be able to finish, was ‘how did you do that?’
It was the one on anyone’s lips who witnessed the events on an enthralled Centre Court.
“I don’t know,” the 36-year-old said.
“The body in general is fine, but in the abdominal [area] something is not going well, being honest. I had to find a way to serve a little bit different.
“For a lot of moments I was thinking I would not be able to finish the match but the crowd, the energy, thanks for that.”
Nadal’s fighting spirit gets him through
Nadal, who was in sublime form in his previous two matches, had got off to a good start with a break in the opening game but Fritz raced to the net to launch a stunning forehand down the line to break back for 3-3.
From then on Nadal seemed troubled physically and when he handed Fritz a break with a double fault, the American wasted no time serving out the set with three aces in a row.
The Spanish 22-time Grand Slam champion went off court for treatment at 3-4 in the second set and although he returned to take that set, his movement continued to be hampered and he struggled on his backhand side and on his serve, which increasingly dropped in speed.
Hanging his head while sitting at the changeovers, Nadal looked lost, calling on the trainer at the end of a third set that he handed to Fritz when he sent a forehand wide. He had a chat with the trainer but no treatment, merely shaking his head before heading over to the baseline.
Nadal was broken eight times in the match, his serve frequently 25mph slower than that of his opponent, but he held it to love to take the fourth set and force a decider that had looked so…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at BBC Sport – Tennis…