July 07, (THEWILL) – Wimbledon second seed, Rafa Nadal, plans to take on Nick Kyrgios in the All-England Club Championship semi-final on Friday afternoon, even with the pain from an injury he is nursing.
The 36-year-old was a major doubt for his match against Kyrgios in the final four after suffering a 7mm abdominal injury midway through the opening set of his semifinal victory over Taylor Fritz. But, in his desire for a Surface Slam and Channel Slam in 2022, Nadal has confirmed that he will compete for a spot in the final.
On Thursday, the Spaniard started getting ready for the tantalising matchup in a training session. He ran confirmed that during Wednesday’s quarter-final, his family members begged him to leave the game because he was clearly in pain and required off-court care, but he refused and persisted in mounting a comeback from behind to secure his place in the semi-final, as THEWILL reported.
Speaking with reporters after defeating Fritz in five sets, Nadal expressed confidence in his ability to prepare for the decisive semi-final match against Kyrgios while also praising his rival: “I hope to be ready to play, that’s the first thing. Nick is a great player in all players, but especially here in grass. I’ll need to be at 100 percent to have the best chance.”
He will play either British number one Cameron Norrie or world number three Novak Djokovic in the Sunday final if he can get over a difficult test in Kyrgios.
Nadal To Play Wimbledon Semi-Final Against Kyrgios Despite Abdominal Injury
By Jude Obafemi
Wimbledon second seed, Rafa Nadal, plans to take on Nick Kyrgios in the All-England Club Championship semi-final on Friday afternoon, even with the pain from an injury he is nursing.
The 36-year-old was a major doubt for his match against Kyrgios in the final four after suffering a 7mm abdominal injury midway through the opening set of his semifinal victory over Taylor Fritz. But, in his desire for a Surface Slam and Channel Slam in 2022, Nadal has confirmed that he will compete for a spot in the final.
On Thursday, the Spaniard started getting ready for the tantalising matchup in a training session. He ran confirmed that during Wednesday’s quarter-final, his family members begged him to leave the game because he was clearly in pain and required off-court care, but he refused and persisted in mounting a comeback from behind to secure his place in the semi-final, as THEWILL reported.
Speaking with reporters after defeating Fritz in five sets, Nadal expressed confidence in his ability to prepare for the decisive semi-final match against Kyrgios while also praising his rival: “I hope to be ready to play, that’s the first thing. Nick is a great player in all players, but especially here in grass. I’ll need to be at 100 percent to have the best chance.”
He will play either British number one Cameron Norrie or world number three Novak Djokovic in the Sunday final if he can get over a difficult test in Kyrgios.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
