Taylor Harry Fritz lost a horrible Wimbledon quarterfinal against an injured Rafael Nadal on Wednesday. The Spanish sensation was clearly struggling with an abdominal injury. Rafa had to slow down his serve dramatically and he had to limit the use of his double-handed backhand as much as he could. Eventually, Nadal won a battle that lasted for more than 4 hours.
Is Nadal faking an abdominal injury?
Fellow tennis player Fabio Fognini was extremely critical of Rafael, hinting that he was faking the injury. The Italian player did not believe that Rafa could play at such a level for more than 4 hours with that kind of issue.
However, during the press conference that followed his Wimbledon quarter-final, Taylor Fritz said that he did not believe that Nadal was faking an injury. The reason was simply the fact that a top player will not slow down his serve so much just to pretend he has physical issues.
@ everyone accusing rafael nadal of faking his injury – here is taylor fritz’s response when asked if nadal made up the injury as part of a gamesmanship ploy pic.twitter.com/0h4AU0NXff
— out of context rafael nadal (@nadalOOC) July 7, 2022
'Is there a part of you, when you see someone who appears to be seriously injured and debilitated then coming out and play points like he did,is there a part of you that thinks there's gamesmanship going on?'
Fritz said no, he saw Rafa played thru severe pain&serve was affected. pic.twitter.com/3hHZ010khd— Del🇪🇺 (@Stroppa_Del) July 6, 2022
Taylor Harry Fritz in 2022
Ranked no.14, the American played his last match on the 6th of July when he surrendered to world no.4 Rafael Nadal 3-6 7-5 3-6 7-5 7-6(4) in the quarter in Wimbledon (draw).
Until now, during this year Taylor achieved a composed 29-11 win-loss record. Fritz conquered 2 titles in 2022 in Indian Wells and in Eastbourne.
Nadal in Wimbledon, ranking, and results in 2022
Now ranked no.4, the Spaniard has achieved an overall 35-3 match record in 2022. The Spaniard is now having a run in Wimbledon where he bested Francisco Cerundolo 6-4 6-3 3-6 6-4, Richard Berankis 6-4 6-4 4-6 6-3, Lorenzo Sonego 6-1 6-2 6-4, Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-4 6-2 7-66 and Taylor Harry Fritz 3-6 7-5 3-6 7-5 7-64.
Rafael Nadal will square off with the world no.40 Nick Kyrgios in the semifinal. Their actual record is 6-3 for Nadal.
Nadal clinched 4 titles in 2022 in Melbourne, at the Australian Open, in Acapulco and at the French Open. The Spaniard was the finalist in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open).
Rafael won 92 titles in his career: 24 on hard courts, 63 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 4 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Taylor Harry Fritz and Rafael Nadal faced off 3 times. Their record is 2-1 for Nadal. Before, the last time they played each other, Rafael Nadal won 3-6 7-5 3-6 7-5 7-6(4) in the quarter in London (Wimbledon) on the 6th of July 2022.
You can see them in action in the following highlights.
Fabio Fognini in 2022
LWLWWWWLWL Now the world no.63, Fognini played his last match on the 27th of June when he lost to world no.53 Tallon Griekspoor 5-7 7-5 6-3 6-4 in the 1st round in Wimbledon (draw).
During this season Fognini has a 13-12 record. Fabio Fognini’s most significant result of the year was reaching the semifinal in Rio de Janeiro and Belgrade.
