Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz played out a titanic quarterfinal at the centre court which went well beyond four hours. But the second seeded Spaniard finally overcame the tough challenge to win 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10/4) to enter the semi-finals. Second seed Nadal is looking to win his third Wimbledon title this year. He has already won the Australian Open and French Open titles this year and is looking to add the Wimbledon title to his kitty. His last victory at the hallowed turf of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club was in the year 2010.
Meanwhile, just when Novak Djokovic’s troubling year looked like hitting another low he salvaged his bid for a fourth successive Wimbledon title by coming back from two sets down to beat Italian Jannik Sinner on Tuesday.
The Serbian top seed had looked in all kinds of trouble against the inspired 20-year-old after being outplayed for two sets but stormed back to win 5-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-2.
In the end there was an air of inevitability about the outcome as the battle-hardened 35-year-old seized control to reach his 43rd Grand Slam semi-final and 11th at Wimbledon.
Djokovic has not been able to add to his 20 major titles this year after being deported from the Australian Open following a COVID-19 standoff and then losing to Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of the French Open.
But he kept alive the prospect of facing second seed Nadal in Sunday’s final with a superb comeback, the seventh time in his career he has triumphed after losing the first two sets.