Rafael Nadal won his Wimbledon quarterfinals against Taylor Fritz 7-6 in the fifth set despite an injury. Before that, his colleague Novak Djokovic takes his hat off to some tennis fans.
Djokovic impressed by Nadal: Novak Djokovic praises his tennis colleague Rafael Nadal for not giving up his Wimbledon quarter-final against Taylor Fritz (USA) despite an injury, as “Tennis World USA” reports. “Hats off,” says the Serb. In addition, the 35-year-old tries to silence some critical voices and emphasizes: “Whether he should have played or not is up to him.”
Short, clear, compact
No semifinals due to abdominal muscle tear: Nadal was obviously restricted in his movements during the match. Later scans revealed a torn abdominal muscle, after which the 36-year-old Spaniard did not appear in his semi-final match against Nick Kyrgios, giving him a bye for the final that was later lost to Djokovic.
Discussions about giving up: There had previously been moral discussions about whether Nadal should have given up the game against Fritz to allow the American to participate in the semifinals – while this was virtually impossible for him given the injury.