Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal was on the brink of an early elimination from Wimbledon this year in the quarterfinals versus Taylor Fritz. The Spaniard was seen struggling with an abdomen injury and opted for a medical timeout in this match already.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion received treatment throughout the match and was even gestured at by his father Sebastian Nadal, seemingly to retire during a medical timeout.
The Spaniard dropped the first set remarkably as Taylor Fritz came roaring back into the set after being broken in the first game of the match. However, the Spaniard hit right back by winning the second set.
The American gained the third set and looked in control to wrap up the match by winning the fourth set. But Rafael Nadal continued to show his incredible resilience and fighting spirit by forcing a fifth set incredibly.
This is not the first time Rafael Nadal has struggled with injuries this year.
The two-time Wimbledon champion started the season in fine form but suffered a rib injury at Indian Wells in the semifinals versus Carlos Alcaraz. While he won the match, he lost to Fritz in the final.
The injury meant that Nadal had a delayed start to his claycourt season. He looked unsure of himself in the early stages of the claycourt season as he started Roland Garros having not reached the final of a claycourt tournament for the first time in his career.
In the second Major of the year, Nadal aggravated a long-standing foot injury that has been plaguing him since 2006. The Spaniard had to take multiple injections to numb the feeling on his foot to compete at Roland Garros, a decision that was subject to much criticism and praise simultaneously.
However, the end justified the means as Nadal won his 14th French Open and 22nd Grand Slam title. Having won the Australian Open at the start of the year, victory in Paris meant that Nadal won the first two Majors of the year and is on track to achieve a Calendar Grand Slam.
His eternal rival Novak Djokovic was on the verge of achieving a Calendar Grand Slam last year but fell short in the US Open final.
