Rafael Nadal Into Eighth Wimbledon Semis As Simona Halep Cruises

7th July 2022

The Spaniard will now square off against Australian Nick Kyrgios as defending champion Novak Djokovic will face Brit Cameron Norrie in the other semi

Spain's Rafael Nadal reacts as he plays against US player Taylor Fritz during their men's singles quarter final tennis match on the tenth day of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 6, 2022. PHOTO | AFP
Spain's Rafael Nadal reacts as he plays against US player Taylor Fritz during their men's singles quarter final tennis match on the tenth day of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 6, 2022. PHOTO | AFP
SUMMARY
  • Rafael Nadal pulled off a remarkable comeback from a potential tournament-ending injury on Wednesday to reach an eighth Wimbledon semi-final
  • Second seed Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 champion, defeated Taylor Fritz of the United States, 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10/4) in a match lasting four hours and 21 minutes
  • In the women’s competition, 2019 champion Simona Halep and Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina set up a clash for a place in the final

Rafael Nadal pulled off a remarkable comeback from a potential tournament-ending injury on Wednesday to reach an eighth Wimbledon semi-final.

Second seed Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 champion, defeated Taylor Fritz of the United States, 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10/4) in a match lasting four hours and 21 minutes.

The Spaniard will now square off against Australian Nick Kyrgios as defending champion Novak Djokovic will face Brit Cameron Norrie in the other semi.

Kyrgios reached his first Grand Slam semi-final by racing to a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) win over Cristian Garin of Chile.

Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, suffered from an abdominal problem that forced him to take a medical timeout in the middle of the second set.

He looked in discomfort for significant parts of the match but came out on top as he kept his bid alive for the first men’s calendar Grand Slam since 1969.

Kyrgios, who shot to fame when he defeated Nadal at the tournament as a 144th-ranked wild card eight years ago, is the first Australian man into the semi-finals since Lleyton Hewitt in 2005.

The richly talented but deeply divisive Kyrgios last made a Slam quarter-final seven years ago in Australia.

Nadal, 36, leads his series with Kyrgios 6-3, including avenging his 2014 loss in a stormy clash at Wimbledon in 2019.

In the women’s competition, 2019 champion Simona Halep and Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina set up a clash for a place in the final.

Halep said she was playing her “best tennis” after comfortably reaching her third semi-final at the All England Club with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Amanda Anisimova of the United States.

Halep has yet to drop a set at this year’s tournament as she targets a third major title, having also won the 2018 French Open.

Russian-born Rybakina became the first player representing Kazakhstan to reach a Grand Slam semi-final when she defeated Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Rybakina switched nationality in 2018. This year Russian and Belarusian players are banned from Wimbledon following the invasion of Ukraine.

Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, ranked second in the world, will take on unseeded German Tatjana Maria in Thursday’s other semi-final.