‘Special moments we shared’ – Rafael Nadal recalls Roger Federer memories at Wimbledon after reaching semis

Rafael Nadal has spoken about his memories of playing against Roger Federer and also the abdominal injury he suffered as he recovered impressively to overcome Taylor Fritz and reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.

It took all of Nadal’s famous mental strength and physical resilience to come through the encounter with a scoreline of 3-6 7-5 3-6 7-5 7-6 to reach the semi-finals.

The legendary Spaniard, who was looking to win his third Grand Slam singles title in succession after his incredible triumphs at the Australian Open and French Open already this year, took a medical timeout at 4-3 up in the second set. He battled on valiantly and managed to overcome the American in a final-set thriller.

“I honestly enjoy a lot playing these kinds of matches in front of you guys, I can’t thank you enough,” he said in his on-court interview.

“It had been a tough afternoon playing, he’s a great player. All the credit to Taylor, he’s been playing great 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-final.

“The body, in general, is fine. Of course, the abdominal is not going well, I had to find a way to serve a little bit different. For a lot of moments I was thinking, ‘I will not be able to finish the match’, but the court energy was something else.

“Yes, it was a long time ago, but it is impossible not to remember that final with Roger [Federer], all the special moments we shared around the world.

“On this court, we played a couple of the most important matches of our careers, so going back to 2008, it would have been difficult to imagine in 2022 I would still be here at Wimbledon playing, but here I am and I am happy for that.

“First thing, I hope to be ready to play it [the semi-final]. Nick [Kyrgios] is a great player on all surfaces, but especially on grass; he is having a great grass-court season.

“It’s going to be a big challenge and I’m going to need to be at my 100 per cent to have a chance, and that is what I am going to try to do.”

Next up for Nadal will be a fascinating semi-final clash with fiery Australian Nick Kyrgios on Centre Court on Friday with the 36-year-old aiming to win his third Grand Slam singles title in what has been an incredible season.

The unseeded star, who has had a hugely dramatic campaign already at the All England Club, held his composure throughout on Court 1 to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam singles event for the first time in his career.

– – –