"They told me I need to retire the match" - Nadal honest about injury

Rafael Nadal has revealed his family were calling for him to quit in his Wimbledon quarter-final against Taylor Fritz, but he ignored their advice to continue in the match and pull off a remarkable five-set win.

Nadal looked poised to withdraw at several points after seeking treatment for an abdominal problem but instead dug in as only he can to secure a 3-6 7-5 3-6 7-5 7-6 (4) win and keep alive his hopes of becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four grand slam titles in the same season. The 22-time major champion revealed his injury is in his abdomen area, as he gave his views in a very honest and open press conference.

Nadal said:

"They told me I need to retire the match. Well, I tried. For me was tough to retire in the middle of the match. Not easy even if I had that idea for such a long time. But in the other hand, I did it a couple of times in my tennis career. Is something that I hate to do it. So I just keep trying, and that’s it."

He further added:

“I’m playing great. I am enjoying a lot. The level of tennis, if we put away the problems, something that’s difficult, the level of tennis, the feeling that I am having with the ball in my hand is honestly great. I am feeling myself playing very well."

On the future, Nadal said:

“Let’s see. It’s obvious that today is nothing new. I had these feelings for a couple of days. Without a doubt, today was the worst day. Have been an important increase of pain and limitation. And that’s it, yeah. I managed to win that match. Let’s see what’s going on tomorrow."