Nadal shuns body language eyes 8th semi-finals at Wimbledon
Rafael Nadal has shrugged off fresh concerns over his fitness as he targets a place in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Wednesday.
The 36-year-old Spaniard played his last-16 clash at the All England Club on Monday against Botic van de Zandschulp with strapping across his abdomen.
Only last month, he won a 14th French Open with his troublesome left foot anaesthetised before undergoing career-saving treatment.
“I’m a little bit tired to talk about my body, all the issues that I am having,” said Nadal. “I prefer to not talk about that now.
“For the moment I am healthy enough to keep going and fight for the things that I want.”
On Wednesday, he will seek to reach the semi-finals for the eighth time when he faces in-form Taylor Fritz.
The American is in the last eight of a Slam for the first time and has yet to drop a set.
The 24-year-old defeated Nadal in the Indian Wells Masters final earlier this year when the Spaniard was suffering from a cracked rib.
That defeat ended his 20-match win streak and forced him to take a six-week rest before the clay court season.
Fritz, whose mother played at Wimbledon, said facing Nadal meant all-out attack.
Waiting in the semi-final will be either Australian Nick Kyrgios or Chile’s Cristian Garin.
Despite the presence of Nadal and six-time champion Novak Djokovic in the draw, Kyrgios has arguably been the headline act.
He is back in the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time since 2014, when he made a mockery of his 144 world ranking to stun Nadal.
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The 27-year-old has taken his aces count past the 100 mark and hit a total of 257 winners over four rounds.
He has also been involved in controversy. Kyrgios was described as having an “evil side” and as a “bully” by third-round rival Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“I sit here now in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon again, and I just know there’s so many people that are so upset,” Kyrgios said.
The 40th-ranked player will go into Wednesday’s match just a day after reports emerged in Australia that he faces a court appearance in August on an allegation of assault.