Wimbledon: Nadal advances and the Latin American dream ends 1:11
(CNN) --
Rafael Nadal says he doesn't know if he'll be in shape to face Nick Kyrgios in his Wimbledon semi-final on Friday.
The Spaniard overcame a grueling five-set battle against Taylor Fritz on Wednesday, winning 3-6 7-5 3-6 7-5 7-6 in four hours and 20 minutes, but at times he appeared to be struggling with an abdominal injury. .
Rafael Nadal recovers to advance to the semifinals at Wimbledon in search of the 23rd Grand Slam title
On more than one occasion, Nadal hunched over after taking a shot and clutched his abdomen.
The two-time Wimbledon champion called the coach for an evaluation in the second set, then took a medical break and left the court for treatment.
"I don't know," Nadal said, according to Reuters, when asked if he would face Kyrgios.
"Honestly, I can't give you a straight answer because if I gave you a straight answer and something else happened tomorrow, I'd be a liar."
After the match, Nadal admitted that he considered withdrawing from the quarterfinal matchup.
advertising
"I just wanted to give myself a chance," he added.
"It's not easy to leave the tournament, it's not easy to leave Wimbledon, although the pain was hard. I don't know. I wanted to finish. I've fought. I'm proud of the fighting spirit and the way I managed to be competitive in those conditions."
"I'm used to putting up with pain and playing with problems. Knowing that, when I feel something like what I felt, it's because something is not going the right way in my abdomen."
"But let's see. I had these feelings for a couple of days. Without a doubt, today was the worst day, there was a significant increase in pain and limitation."
Rafael Nadal wins his 14th Roland Garros title and enlarges his legend
Nadal played through the pain barrier to win his 14th French Open title this year, receiving injections in his foot before each match.
In a post-match press conference at Roland Garros, Nadal said his 21-year career had made him endure pain "every day".
The 22-time Grand Slam champion was an injury doubt coming into Wimbledon after receiving treatment for the foot injury that dogged him during the French Open, but has now reached the semi-finals at the All England Club for the eighth time in his career. race.
Nick Kyrgios Rafael Nadal Wimbledon