London, July 5 (BNA): Second seed Rafael Nadal took another step forward in his quest for a rare Grand Slam win on Monday by securing his place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a 6-4 6-2 7-6 (6) win over Dutch boutique van de Zandschulp.
The All England Club, where the Spaniard won two of his 22 main teams, was Nadal’s least rewarded spot but he arrived this year after winning back-to-back Australian and French Open titles for the first time in his career, Reuters reports.
A third Wimbledon title and first since 2010 on the trimmed lawn and a US Open victory would see Mallorca win the title on the calendar – a feat that Australian Rod Laver last achieved in 1969.
He will face American 11th seed Taylor Fritz for a place in the semi-finals on Friday.
“To be in the quarter-finals here at Wimbledon after three years without playing here, it’s great for me,” Nadal said. “Very very happy.
“It was a good match in general against a difficult player. I think he is a very good player.”
Nadal played and won Roland Garros with analgesic injections before each match and only confirmed his participation in the All England Club after radiofrequency treatment relieved the pain in his foot.
Great effort
The Spaniard played his first tournament on grass since losing the 2019 semi-finals at Wimbledon to Roger Federer, and the Spaniard has shown little difficulty adjusting to the surface.
“I thought I (made) a lot of effort to be here,” he said. “(It takes) a lot of mental and physical effort to try and play this tournament after the things I’ve been through over the past two months.
“But as everyone knows, Wimbledon is a tournament I love so much. I’ve been three years without playing here. I really wanted to come back. That’s what I do. That’s why it means so much to me to be in the quarter-finals.”
He felt that his overall game was getting better “day by day”.
“It’s always the same here,” Nadal said. “It’s not about how close I am or not. I don’t know. I can’t predict what will happen.”
“But the positive thing is that the first two matches were not good. Then a couple of days ago I played at a high level for the first time. And today, again, most of the match was at a very positive level.”
Dominate the game from start to finish in Round 4 with a slight swing at the end.
Nadal entered Monday’s match after winning the pair’s only previous encounter at Roland Garros this year in straight sets on his way to winning the 14th French Open title.
break the chances
Against Van de Zandscholp the day after top seed and current champion Novak Djokovic beat another Dutchman at Tim van Reethoven, Nadal had two break points on his opponent’s first serve but couldn’t capitalize on them.
With the Dutchman remaining in the first set at 4-5, Nadal fouled the 26-year-old’s backhand with a sinister corner forehand in the first half.
After saving the first break point from his serve in the opening match of the second set, Nadal broke Van de Zandscholp’s delivery in the next set to take an early lead with two consecutive errors from the Dutchman.
A double foul in match eight from Van de Zandschulp gave Nadal a double break and with him the second set.
A wild forehand saw Nadal suffer his first break at the start of the third game. But the Dutchman’s joy and the fans’ hopes in a long competition did not last long as he broke his left hand on the spot.
A superb backhand pass along the field broke Nadal in the sixth game and the jubilant Spaniard celebrated with a number of fists.
Serving the match at 5-3 the 36-year-old was again broken as he forced Van de Zandschulp to break the tie.
But Nadal found the advantage, taking a crucial short break by winning the 30 rally shots – the longest of the match – that got the fans on their feet.