Wimbledon – Rafael Nadal – Taylor Fritz 3:2 – quarterfinals – ŠPORT.SK

today 20:42 | On Friday, the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal will be the opponent of the Australian Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals of the men’s Wimbledon singles. In the position of the tournament’s number two, he turned the quarterfinal duel with the American Taylor Fritz and won after an almost four and a half hour five-set battle 3:6, 7:5, 3:6, 7:5. 7:6 (4). The Spaniard, who triumphed at the Australian Open and at Roland Garros this season, is still nurturing a chance to win the calendar Grand Slam. You could watch the Taylor Fritz – Rafael Nadal duel ONLINE at ŠPORT.sk >> Fritz served well during the match with Nadal for a long time, he was able to return and use a two-handed backhand. In the beginning, he lost 1:3, but then he won five games in a row and won the first set in his favor. The Spaniard made too many unforced errors, had problems with movement and asked for a medical time out in the second set at 4:3. The break helped him and he celebrated success at the end of the set, but the third act belonged to Fritz again. Nadal did not lay down his weapons and took Fritz’s serve twice at the beginning of the fourth set. The American, who knocked out Slovakian Alex Molčan in the 3rd round, made it 5:4, but the end of the set belonged to Nadal. In the decisive action, the Spaniard took the lead 4:3 after a break in Tilden’s game, but subsequently lost his serve and the fate of the match had to be decided by the final super tiebreak. In his opener, Nadal built a 5-0 lead and avenged Fritz’s loss in the Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, California. “I don’t even know how I managed to win today’s match. I want to thank the fans for their support, they were fantastic. Taylor gave an excellent performance and I congratulate you on a successful tournament. 14 years ago I played one of the most important matches of my career at this center – a winning final against Roger Federer. If someone had told me then that I would be in the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2022, I wouldn’t have believed them. Nick Kyrgios will be a big challenge, he has a great grass season, this surface suits him. I have to give 100% if I want to succeed. I feel I’m fine, I hope I can recover well by Friday,” said Nadal in the post-match interview. Kyrgios advanced to his first Grand Slam singles semifinal. In the quarterfinals, he won over the Chilean Cristiano Garin 6:4, 6:3, 7:6 (5). “I didn’t expect that I would ever be able to advance to the elite quartet in the Grand Slam singles again. I thought that the semi-final ship had definitely sailed for me. I am proud that thanks to the help of my team I managed to get this far. Cristian is great player and I was lucky with a lot of break points,” said Kyrgios, who won the Australian Open men’s doubles alongside compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis in January. Nick Kyrgios Source: SITA/AP men – singles – quarterfinals: Nick Kyrgios (Aust.) – Cristian Garin (Chile) 6:4, 6:3, 7:6 (5) Rafael Nadal (Sp.-2) – Taylor Fritz (USA) 3:6, 7:5, 3:6, 7:5, 7:6 (4)