2 Responses to wb22nadal_fritz

1. Voo de Mar says:

   August 2, 2023 at 6:54 pm

   Points won by each set: | 22-30, 38-34, 19-27, 42-37, 47-40 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   17 % Nadal – 29 of 164
   31 % Fritz – 55 of 172

   When I write this description in August ’23 it’s likely it was Nadal’s last great victory – by this I mean an advanced stage of a Slam and him being close to defeat. 36-year-old Nadal [4] began the quarterfinal on Centre Court, having won 18 consecutive major matches, with the first reasonable chance in his long career to win the calendar Slam! Fritz [14] had his arguments: he had defeated Nadal in their previous meeting at Indian Wells and was on his best winning streak (8 matches, 13 sets in a row).
   Initially Nadal was playing superb tennis, he led 3:1* (30/0), yet lost five straight games. Then he won three games in a row which gave him a 3:0 lead. Serving at 3:1 he committed two double faults, and he bent his torso after the second one, indicating abdominal problems. He took a medical time-out during which, his father was showing gestures in the box which could be interpreted as an encouragement to retire, however, Nadal the ultimate warrior, decided to continue, saved a crucial break point at 3-all, and afterwards used all his enormous experience for 3.5 hours since his pain was obvious: he slowed down his first serves 15-20 kph, began to risk more with his forehand while his double-handed backhand turned into a one-handed slice; moreover he was trying to shorten the points attacking the net frequently with forehands, and he was delivering dropshots from positions he normally doesn’t play them. Nonetheless Fritz led 5:4* (15/0) in the 4th set after a forehand winner, so three points away from the biggest win of his life in “best of five” – Nadal accelerated the pace winning 12 out of the last 14 points in that set. In the decider Fritz came back from a break down twice to lead 5:4, again being three points away from the semifinal – Nadal feeling the finishing line, increased the speed of his serve. He held at 15, and at ‘love’ serving at 5:6. In the super tie-break (first Wimbledon edition with tie-breaks of this kind) he jumped to a *5:0 lead with authority. Fritz still believed despite adversity possessing great record of deciding 3rd set tie-breaks, yet at 3:6 occurred the most vital point – there was the longest rally of the match (23 strokes), Fritz dived to Nadal’s dropshot, but play the ball too high to give himself a chance to get the point. The 22 Grand Slam champion finished the 4-hour 21-minute contest with an acute forehand winner. In the aftermath, he was unable to enter the court in the semifinal against Kyrgios, and needed several weeks to recover. Once he came back to the tour before the US Open, he wasn’t the same, and after an abysmal (for his standards) 5-8 record (4R UO, 2R AO), he decided to skip almost the entire 2023 season, saying that the year 2024 would be his last… For Fritz, it was his second five-set defeat against an ailing legend of the game, a year before he lost in Melbourne to Djokovic with the Serb having physical issues in sets 3-5.

   Nadal’s 5th match won in a 5th set tie-break, new record; 4 matches of this type had won Krickstein, Safin & Anderson.

   Serve & volley: Nadal 1/1, Fritz 0
   

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2. Voo de Mar says:

   August 2, 2023 at 7:47 pm

   Wimbledon super tie-breaks:

   2024
   1R: Vukic d. Ofner 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6[10/8]
   1R: Cazaux d. Bergs 6-1, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 7-6[10/8]… already 7:0, then 8:8
   1R: Harris d. Michelesen 3-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6[11/9] … 5:8
   1R: Machac d. Goffin 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6[10/5]
   2R: Comesana d. Walton 7-5, 1-6, 6-7, 6-1, 7-6[10/8]
   2R: Shelton d. Harris 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6[10/7]
   2023
   1R: Tsitsipas d. Thiem 3-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-7, 7-6[10/8]
   3R: Rune d. Davidovich 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6[10/8]… 2:6 and 5:8
   2022
   1R: Tabilo d. Djere 7-6, 6-2, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6[13/11]
   1R: Davidovich d. Hurkacz 7-6, 6-4, 5-7, 2-6, 7-6[10/8]… 4:7
   2R: Vesely d. Davidovich 6-3, 5-7, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6[10/7]
   4R: Garin d. De Minaur 2-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-4, 7-6[10/6]
   QF: Nadal d. Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6[10/4]

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