Rafael Nadal intră în sferturile de finală de la Wimbledon, trecând la 18-0 la majore în 2022

The Rafa Nadal express keeps rolling.

Nadal, care a câștigat primele două etape ale calendarului Grand Slam for the first time in his career, moved into the Wimbledon quarterfinals by beating No. 21 Botic van de Zandschulp of The Netherlands, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(6) in the fourth round on Monday, closing it out when his opponent hit a forehand overhead wide on match point.

The 36-year-old Spaniard is now 18-0 in majors this season.

El va next face American Taylor Fritz on Wednesday after Fritz advanced to his first career quarterfinal. He has yet to drop a set in the fortnight. Nadal and Fritz are 1-1 head-to-head, with the American beating a compromised Nadal in the Indian Wells final in March when Nadal was bothered by a cracked rib. This will be their first meeting on grass. Nadal is 7-0 in Wimbledon quarterfinals.

“He’s playing well, he’s having an amazing year, winning a first Masters 1000, against me by the way in the finals so, yeah, gonna be a tough match but we are in quarterfinals of Wimbledon so what can I expect?” Nadal said of Fritz.

The winner of that match could get the mercurial Nick Kyrgios in the semis after the Australian advanced to his first major quarterfinal in seven years by beating 20-year-old American Brandon Nakashima in five sets. Kyrgios next faces Cristian Garin of Chile in the quarters.

“In 2019 my agent had to come get me out of a pub at 4:00 AM before I played Nadal,” Kyrgios said. “This year I have a different mindset. I’ve come a long way, that’s for sure.”

Top seed and three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic is on the other half of the bracket and could await Nadal in Sunday’s championship match. He should get a stiff test from No. 10 Jannik Sinner on Tuesday after the Italian handled No. 5 Carlos Alcaraz in four sets Sunday.

Djokovic a spus că a adăugat motivație pentru a câștiga al patrulea Wimbledon consecutiv, deoarece în prezent nu are permisiunea de a juca US Open în SUA pentru că nu este vaccinat împotriva Covid-19.

După câștigând al 14-lea Open al Franței și al 22-lea titlu de Grand Slam Pe 5 iunie, Nadal a spus că plănuiește să facă ablația cu radiofrecvență – care folosește căldura asupra nervului pentru a calma durerea pe termen lung – dar ar trebui să ia în considerare o intervenție chirurgicală dacă acest tratament nu funcționează. Legenda tenisului suferă de sindromul Mueller-Weiss – o afecțiune degenerativă rară care afectează oasele de la picioare. El a spus că a jucat la French Open pentru că a primit mai multe injecții cu anestezic în timpul turneului.

“I know at the beginning of the tournament, especially at the physical stature that I arrived here,” he said after his first round match, “the victory is the most important thing because that gives me the chance to practice tomorrow again and to have another match in two days. And I am happy for that, without a doubt.”