The hope of a dream Wimbledon final between the ATP Tour’s top two stars – Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal – is still alive as the Spaniard survived an abdominal injury to win a five-set war against American Taylor Fritz.
However, Nick Kyrgios could prove to be a formidable foe after the Australian took care of Chile’s Cristian Garin in straight sets to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.
The winner of the Nadal-Kyrgios clash will go on to face either defending champion Djokovic, who came from two sets down to stun Jannik Sinner, and hometown hero Cameron Norrie.
So read on as SBOTOP catches you up on the latest Wimbledon 2022 news on the men’s singles tournament.
Rafael Nadal plays through pain to foil Fritz
Rafael Nadal added another entry to his already long list of memorable Grand Slam performances as he overcame injury to defeat Taylor Fritz in their quarter-final clash in five gruelling sets.
The 36-year-old Nadal looked to be on the verge of retirement as he called a medical timeout due to what appeared to be an abdominal injury midway through the match.
However, the No. 2 seed found a way to play through the pain as he came from behind to beat Fritz 3-6 7-5 3-6 7-5 7-6(4) after nearly four and a half hours.
“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 says he hopes to be ready to play in his semi-final showdown with Nick Kyrgios.
Nick Kyrgios cruises to first Grand Slam semi
Speaking of Kyrgios, the Australian has reached the first Grand Slam semi-final of his career as he crushed Cristian Garin in straight sets 6-4 6-3 7-5(5).
Kyrgios, who knocked out World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas earlier in the tournament, continued his strong service game as he fired 17 aces and won 73 per cent of 1st serve points. He also saved eight of nine break points as he wrapped up the win after just over two hours.
“An amazing atmosphere out here again. I just never thought that I would be in the semi-finals at a Grand Slam. I thought that ship had sailed,” Kyrgios said in his on-court interview. “I didn’t go about things great earlier in my career and may have missed my window. I am really proud of the way I have come back out here.”
The Wimbledon 2022 betting odds will be against Kyrgios, who is 3-6 in his nine career matches against semi-final opponent Nadal. Kyrgios won their first-ever meeting at Wimbledon in 2014, but Nadal has won each of the last three matches, including one in Wimbledon in 2019 as well as their most recent match in the Indian Wells quarter-finals earlier this year.
But with Nadal’s questionable health status, Kyrgios could have a much better chance of making his first Grand Slam final.
Djokovic duels with Norrie in other semi
The winner of the Nadal-Kyrgios semi-final will face either World No. 1 Novak Djokovic or British No. 1 Cameron Norrie in the final.
Both players needed to come from behind to win their respective quarter-final matches in five sets.
Djokovic was surprisingly in a more precarious position as he went two sets down against Jannik Sinner. But the three-time defending champion stormed back in spectacular fashion as he extended his winning streak at the All England Club to 26 matches.
“Happiness, love, fulfilment, pride, [I feel] everything on this court,” said Djokovic in his on-court interview, when asked about extending his winning streak. “I love it. I think the majority of the players would agree this is the biggest tennis tournament in the history of our game, so this court is the most important one, definitely in my career and my life.
As for Norrie, he rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat David Goffin 3-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 and reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.
“Just winning a match like this, I’m in shock. I don’t know what to say now,” an emotional Norrie said in his on-court interview. “But just straight flashbacks to all the hard work, all the preseasons and all the sacrifices I’ve had to make. So it definitely pays off and it feels pretty good.”
Djokovic won the only meeting between him and Norrie. That came in the ATP World Tour Finals last year.
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