Google News
Taylor Fritz's curse in the matches against Rafael Nadal. "It's the biggest defeat he's ever suffered." These are the words that Taylor used to comment on the quarter-final he lost to Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon. In fact, the American found himself playing against an injured Spaniard, still haunted by his abdominal problem.
Although his father and sister ordered him to retire from the box, the Grand Slam champion decided to continue the match and start the comeback. 3-6 7-5 3-6 7-5 7-6 was the final result, which gave the victory to the Iberian, who returns to the semifinals after the one they lost in 2019.
The quarter-finals at Wimbledon were the third direct clash between Fritz and Nadal, the second in which the Spaniard was not in the best physical condition. Even in the final of the Indian Wells Masters 1000, in which the two faced off for the title, the Spaniard played with an injury: a stress fracture in the ribs that affected him throughout the match.
Taylor Fritz's curse in the matches against Rafael Nadal
The final victory, in that case, went to the landlord, winner of the first 1000 title of his career. The American number one, however, did not only play against an injured Rafa Nadal, but also with another former number one, in similar physical conditions, and even on that occasion, like at Wimbledon, he was defeated.
At the 2021 Australian Open, Taylor Fritz faced title holder Novak Djokovic in the third round. The Serbian had gone through two sets, but a slip on the Melbourne sign on the pitch caused him an abdominal problem and made him miss the next two sets.
Only in the decisive fifth set, the winner of nine Australian hardcourt titles found the strength to close the match and move on to the round of 16 of the tournament. A tournament that he then won with an abdominal tear of 1.71 cm, as declared by the Serbian tennis player himself at the end of the competition. Now will have to wait to know when Rafael Nadal will come back on the court.