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Wimbledon 2022: Nadal outlasts American Fritz to reach semis

Spain's Rafael Nadal plays a forehand against American Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon on Wednesday in London. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI
1 of 6 | Spain's Rafael Nadal plays a forehand against American Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon on Wednesday in London. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

July 6 (UPI) -- Spaniard Rafael Nadal played through an abdominal injury and fended off an upset attempt by American Taylor Fritz in a four-hour, 20-minute marathon match Wednesday in London to reach the Wimbledon semifinals.

"I enjoy playing these kind of matches," Nadal said in his on-court interview. "It was a tough afternoon against a great player.

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"All the credit to Taylor. He has played great the whole season. It was not an easy match at all. I'm just very happy to be in the semifinals."

The second-seeded Nadal trailed 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, but roared back to win the fourth set 7-5. He win the fifth set 7-6(4) through a tiebreak. Fritz, the No. 11 seed, logged 19 aces, 56 winners and converted 8 of 14 break points.

Nadal logged five aces, 55 winners and converted 7 of 14 break point opportunities to reach his 38th career Grand Slam singles semifinal.

He will face Australian Nick Kyrgios on Friday. Kyrgios beat Chilean Cristian Garin 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5) in Wednesday's first men's quarterfinal.

He totaled 17 aces, 35 winners and converted 3 of 6 break points in the win. Garin totaled two aces and converted just 1 of 9 break point opportunities.

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The winner of the Kyrgios-Nadal match will face No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia or No. 9 Cameron Norrie of England in the Wimbledon men's singles final Sunday.

Earlier Wednesday, No. 16 Simona Halep of Romania needed just 63 minutes to sweep No. 20 Amanda Anisimova of the United States in straight sets.

Halep fired three aces, converted 4 of 6 break points and logged just six unforced errors in the 6-2, 6-4 win.

"I'm really happy to be back in the semifinals at Wimbledon," Halep told reporters. "It's one of my favorite tournaments, so it's pretty special. ... I'm really pleased with the way I played."

Halep will face No. 17 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the semifinals. Rybakina beat Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

The winner of the Halep-Rybakina match will face No. 3 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia or German Tatjana Maria in the women's singles final Saturday.

"It's a new match and a new challenge, but I'm ready for it," Halep said. "I'll try to give everything."

Wimbledon coverage will air from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT Thursday on ESPN and ESPN2.

Moments from Wimbledon 2022

Serbian Novak Djokovic kisses the Wimbledon trophy after victory against Australian Nick Kyrgios at the Wimbledon championships in London on July 10. It is his seventh Wimbledon championship title. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

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