"Stop believe in what you read" - Fabio Fognini raises doubts over Rafael Nadal's injury concerns during Wimbledon QFs
In the scarcely believable Wimbledon quarterfinal between Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz on Wednesday, the Spaniard rolled out yet another example of his never-give-up attitude as he beat the American in a five-set special.
After four hours and 20 minutes, the final score read 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(10-4) in the favor of World No. 4. However, the astonishing scoreline doesn't tell the entire story or the circumstances in which Nadal prevailed.
The 36-year-old struggled with abdominal pain, forcing him to request a medical timeout in the second set. This was when his father was seen angrily signaling at him to retire from the match. Would a man named Rafael Nadal quit? Definitely not. Limited movement and significantly slower serve could not stop the fighter in Nadal from winning and reaching the semifinals of the grass-court Major.
Despite the match and the manner in which the second seed won impressed the majority of the tennis world, Italian player Fabio Fognini seemed to suggest that the Spaniard might have faked his injury.
Fognini took to social media to advise fans not to believe everything they read as he highlighted 'being injured' in one of the news pieces.
Fabio Fognini isn’t buying Nadal’s injury. https://t.co/NrvcZACslJ
"Rafael Nadal's sporting milestone who, despite being injured, advances to the semi-finals after winning the fifth-set super tiebreak against Taylor Fritz," the headline read.
"For sure. Guys stop believe in what you read. Please," Fognini wrote in his Instagram story.
Rafael Nadal takes on Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals
By winning Wednesday's quarterfinal against Fritz, World No. 4 Rafael Nadal made it to the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the 38th time in his career. His opponent is the 40th-ranked Nick Kyrgios in what will be the tenth meeting between the two players. Nadal leads their head-to-head 6-3, with one win apiece at SW19.
The duo played against each other for the first time at Wimbledon in 2014. The young Australian wildcard stunned Nadal in four sets in the fourth round. The Spaniard had to wait five years to avenge his loss in London as he defeated Kyrgios in four sets in the second round.
Rafael Nadal defeats Taylor Fritz to advance to the men’s semifinals at Wimbledon. He will play Nick Kyrgios next 👀🎾 https://t.co/0i2hZOI6SF
Speaking in an on-court interview after yesterday's match, Nadal admitted that Kyrgios, who is in great form on grass this year, will not be easy to beat.
“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," Nadal said.