Rafael Nadal vs Fritz in Wimbledon Quarterfinals
Rafael Nadal reached the quarterfinals of a grass-court Grand Slam for the third time in a row, defeating Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (6) on July 4.
Nadal could have won faster had he not missed the chance to serve to end the match when leading 5-4 in the third set. He then also led 6-3 in the tie-break but missed three match-points, then won 8-6 thanks to Van de Zandschulp’s botched smash.
The 21st seed made many basic mistakes in this match. In addition to the final smash out, Van de Zandschulp also made a double serve error that led to a 2-6 defeat in the second set.
The Dutchman knocked himself out 34 times in the whole match, twice as many as Nadal. Serve is van de Zandschulp’s strong point but this match his ratio of one-on-court and winning serve point one is lower than Nadal’s.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner faced only four break-points in the whole match and successfully saved twice. Nadal maintains firm shots after the baseline and effectively interrupts the rhythm with small drop shots or an attacking net overflow.
Nadal’s play is also more favorable when the Center court is slower in the second week of the tournament.
Nadal has reached the semifinals the last two times playing at Wimbledon, in 2018 and 2019. He will meet 11th seed Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals. Fritz earlier beat Jason Kubler 6-3, 6-1, 6-4.
