Rafael Nadal ignored calls from his family that he should quit his quarterfinal match at Wimbledon, where he was struggling with an injury.
Nadal was playing American Taylor Fritz for a spot in the Wimbledon semifinal in what many considered a 50-50 matchup on grass. Fritz had won a title in Eastbourne before arriving in London, while Nadal was recovering from a foot injury.
Before the tournament started, it was obvious that Nadal was not 100% fit, even though he denied responding to questions about his injury. However, he still managed to reach the quarterfinal, which is a great achievement in the grand scheme of things and maintained his undefeated record in majors this year.
But Nadal's physical issues began to resurface during his quarterfinal match against Fritz, where he trailed by two sets to one. The Spaniard made his opponent stay on the court a little longer forcing him to play one more shot, which created a seed of doubt.
Nadal had been bothered by an abdominal injury and left the court during the match to seek medical attention. Despite soldering on upon his return to the court, his father, Sebastian Nadal, was seen motioning for him to retire from the match.
But the 22-time Grand Slam champion defied his family's pleas and continued. He managed to break Fritz down the stretch in the fourth set and then prevailed in a fifth-set tie-break. He will play Nick Kyrgios in the semifinal.
Nadal said after the match that he would undergo some tests to ascertain whether he would be fit to play in the semifinal and referred to the quarterfinal experience as the "worst day" in terms of pain.
"I enjoy a lot playing these kind of matches. It was a tough afternoon against a great player. It was not easy at all, I’m just very happy to be in the semi-finals. The abdominal is not going well. I had to find a way to serve a little bit different. For a moment I thought I might not be able to finish the match."