Rafael Nadal rejected family’s pleas to quit Taylor Fritz match due to injury

The Spaniard said he does not know if he will be fit enough to play Nick Kyrgios in the semi-finals on Friday

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Rafael Nadal rejected pleas from his father and sister to retire from his Wimbledon quarter-final against Taylor Fritz after suffering from abdominal pain.

The 36-year-old, who played on to claim a stunning victory in over four hours, said he does not know if he will be fit enough to play against Nick Kyrgios in the semi-finals on Friday. “I can’t give you a clear answer,” he said.

Nadal took a medical timeout and received treatment during his epic five-set win over the American on Centre Court, with his closest family members gesturing for him to quit the match rather than suffering through the injury.

“They told me I need to retire the match,” Nadal said. “Well, I tried. For me was tough to retire in the middle of the match. Not easy even if I had that idea for such a long time.

“But on the other hand, I did it a couple of times in my tennis career. Is something that I hate to do it. So I just keep trying, and that’s it.”

When asked how he rates his chances of playing Kyrgios on Friday, Nadal replied: “I don’t know. Tomorrow I’m going to have some more tests. But difficult to know.

“It’s obvious that I am not the kind of player that I didn’t have a lot of things in my tennis career, so I am used to have things and I am used to hold pain and to play with problems.

“Knowing that, when I feel something like I felt, that is because something is not going the proper way. But let’s see. It’s obvious that today is nothing new. I had these feelings for a couple of days. Without a doubt, today was the worst day.

“There has been an important increase of pain and limitation. I managed to win that match. Let’s see what’s going on tomorrow.”