The nagging doubt is whether he will be able to take on Kyrgios, the mercurial and controversial Australian who reached his first Wimbledon semi-final by beating Chilean Cristian Garin in straight sets. The pair have a fraught history at the All England Club: Kyrgios, who beat him here eight years ago as a 19-year-old, infuriated him in 2019 by serving forearm and peppering him with shots to the body.
“I don’t know,” Nadal said with a remorseful smile when asked if he would appear for the semifinals. “I can’t give you a straight answer because if I do and then something else happens, I’m a liar.”
Fritz, knowing Nadal was less physically fit here, was devastated by the defeat, but still found it in him to applaud his conqueror’s resilience. “It probably hurts more than any loss I’ve ever had,” the Californian said. “I’m confident I can say this is number 1 because literally after the game was over I was sitting there and I felt like I wanted to cry. I’ve never felt this way, ever, after a loss .
“His movement, for a couple of games, wasn’t that explosive. Once he got a feel for the injury, he knew it would really hit him on the serve and he was able to play from the back. His serve fell off 10, 15 mph From the ground I thought he was money in the third, fourth and fifth sets He moved really well I absolutely ripped the ball in the corners and he ran and ripped them right back past me for winners He was amazing. ”