"If I didn't beat him, I shouldn't be moving on" - Fritz on his Wimbledon exit after loss to an injured Nadal

Taylor Fritz is having his most successful season yet, with the Indian Wells triumph the biggest title of his career so far. The American beat Rafael Nadal 6-3, 7-6(5) in the final to clinch the trophy.

The pair met again in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, where a visibly injured Nadal fought hard to win the five-set contest and go through to the semifinals.

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However, the 36-year-old had to pull out of the grass Slam before his match against Nick Kyrgios because of an abdominal injury, which led many to ponder whether Fritz should have been allowed to take Nadal's place in the last four.

In a recent Citi Open Instagram live, Fritz disagreed with the idea that he should have taken Nadal's place in the semifinals.

“If I wanted to be in the semifinal, I should’ve beaten him. It’s as simple as that. If I didn’t beat him, I shouldn’t be moving on. I don’t deserve to be in the next match. It is what it is. He has the right to pull out.”, Fritz was quoted as saying.

When the SW19 draws were made, the Indian Wells champion said that he was excited about the potential clash against Nadal.

“It was a huge match and I wanted it. I saw early on in the tournament that it could be a quarterfinal and I said, I want that quarterfinal, and I got it, and I played well. I had my chances, could’ve gone either way. It sucks to lose obviously”, added Fritz.

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Furthermore, he stated that the Wimbledon quarterfinal loss was one of the hardest defeats of his career.

“This probably hurts more than any loss I’ve ever had,” Fritz remarked, “After the match was over, I was sitting there and I felt like crying, like I wanted to cry. I’ve never felt like that ever after a loss.”

Both men are scheduled to compete at the upcoming US Open, with Nadal hoping to win his third Grand Slam title this season (Australian Open, French Open).