From barely being able to stand to fighting till the last moment and winning a thrilling 5-set game. We’re talking about one of the quarter finals in the Wimbledon 2022 men’s draw where we witnessed a great victory by a legend of the game. USA’s top ranked player Taylor Fritz was taking on 2-time past Wimbledon champion and 22-time Grand Slam champ, Rafael Nadal.
Rafa looked a little bit off in the first set and Fritz took full advantage of the same, winning 6-3 and looking really good. In the second set, we saw Rafa clearly struggling and we got to know later that it was some kind of an abdominal injury that was restricting him from playing his best game. Still, he managed to break Fritz’s serve at the right time to win 7-5 and level the game at one set apiece.
Wimbledon 2022 – Rafael Nadal makes semi final
Fritz was struggling and seemed tired but he managed to keep his composure and went on to win the third set 6-3 again. And while Fritz was ahead, Nadal was winning everyone’s hearts as he fought and continued to stay in the competition, even though he was barely able to serve. With no pace on his serve at all, he still managed to win points and stay competitive.
We saw a whole lot of drama in the fourth set as the two players kept breaking each others’ service games. The set was a topsy-turvy one and you could never tell who was going to take the set. Fritz was leading 2-1 in sets and he could’ve applied the pressure to end it quickly but the 24-year old hasn’t been at this stage of a grand slam as many times Rafael Nadal has. Experience surely counts!
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Nadal was hurting too much to bring his 100% game but ended up breaking at the right time in the fourth set, winning 7-5 and levelling the game once again. He was being cheered on for every point with the center court seeing a full house for the first time in 3 years. We then were all set for a thrilling fifth set, Fritz’s longest game in the tournament by a long way!
The court was packed with crowds from across the world and there were quite a few celebrities in attendance as well, including former England footballer David Beckham. Coming back to the game, the fifth set was a back and forth one too, with Nadal breaking first and Fritz breaking back immediately, taking the service game break count to 15, and levelling the fifth set at 4-4.
Nadal took a massive lead in the champion’s tie-break and ended up winning 10-4 in that tie-breaking, completing a victory that not many would’ve been expecting. It was his 47th appearance in a grand slam quarter final and he got through like a boss. However, he did mention that his body wasn’t feeling too good and that he’s not even sure about whether he’ll be able to play the next game!
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