Wimbledon: It was not an easy match, just happy to be in semis, says Nadal after epic five-setter

Rafael Nadal said the quarter-final match against the US' Taylor Fritz was "not easy at all" and he was "just very happy" to progress to the next round on Wednesday.

Nadal defeated 11th-seeded Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(10-4) to reach the semi-final of Wimbledon, where he would meet Australia's Nick Kyrgios. The Spaniard took a medical timeout in the second set but carried on with the quarters on Center-court on Wednesday with an abdominal injury.

"It was a tough afternoon against a great player. All the credit to Taylor, he has been playing great during the whole season. From my personal side, it was not an easy match at all, so I'm just very happy to be in the semi-finals.

"The body, in general, is fine. In the abdominal [area] it is not going well, to be honest. I had to find a way to serve a little bit differently, for a lot of moments I was thinking maybe I would not be able to finish the match, but I don't know. The court, the energy [helped me]," Nadal just in the on-court interview after his win, according to ATP.

Nadal is chasing a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam. He last played Wimbledon in 2019, where he lost in the semi-final to Roger Federer. The Swiss Master went on to lose the grand finale to Novak Djokovic. Both Federer and Djokovic right now have two major titles less than Nadal.

"I hope to be ready to play. Nick is a great player on all surfaces, but especially here on grass. He's having a great grass-court season and it's going to be a big challenge. I need to be at 100% to keep having chances and that's what I am going to try to do," said Nadal of his upcoming fixture against Kyrgios.

This was the second time in a span of four months Nadal played against Fritz while carrying an injury. Earlier this year, Nadal played the Indian Wells final with a fractured rib against Fritz, who went on to clinch his maiden ATP Masters title. The loss at the Paribas Open had also brought Nadal's incredible 21-match winning streak to an end.

In the ongoing season, Nadal has already won four titles, including two Grand Slams, while he has lost only three games so far this year.

Rafa Nadal: My team told me I needed to retire during quarters

Meanwhile, at the post-match conference, Nadal also revealed that his team had advised him to retire from the Wimbledon quarters on Wednesday.

"They told me I needed to retire from the match. For me it was tough to retire in the middle of the match. [It was] not easy, even if I had that idea for such a long time. I did it a couple of times in my tennis career. It's something that I hate to do. So, I just kept trying, and that's it.

"They can't do much [in the medical time-out], honestly. The doctor came, gave me some anti-inflammatories and analgesic. The physio just tried to relax the muscle there a little bit, but it's difficult. Nothing can be fixed when you have a thing like this. That's it. I just wanted to give myself a chance. [It is] not easy to leave the tournament, not easy to leave Wimbledon, even if the pain was hard," the 36-year-old added further.

World No. 4 also mentioned that he is going to have a few tests on Thursday (June 7) before deciding whether he would play the semis or not.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to have some more tests; 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 need to know different opinions and I need to check everything the proper way. That is something more important than winning Wimbledon; that is health. Let's see how this goes," said Nadal in the same conference.

Nadal is scheduled to face off against Kyrgios in the Wimbledon semi-final on Friday on Center-Court. The other last-four fixture is between Djokovic and local boy Cameron Norrie.