Rafael Nadal's hopes of landing a first calendar slam remain alive after he dug deep to edge Taylor Fritz in a fifth-set tie-break and reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon.
Competing at this stage of a grand slam for a 47th time – compared to a first time for Fritz – Nadal battled through the pain barrier to win 3-6 7-5 3-6 7-5 7-6 (10-4) on Centre Court.
Nadal, who was regularly checked over by his physio, will now face Nick Kyrgios as he looks to add to the Australian Open and French Open crowns already won this year.
Fritz had not dropped a single set en route to the final eight, but facing Nadal initially appeared a challenge too far when the Spaniard broke his serve in the opening game.
However, the number 11 seed responded brilliantly by whittling off five games in a row – breaking Nadal twice – to take the first set and lay down a real marker.
He could not carry that momentum into the second set, with Nadal racing into a 3-0 lead, but the 22-time grand slam winner was struggling with an abdominal injury at that point.
With mistakes again creeping into his game, Nadal called for a medical time-out when pegged back to 4-3, though he was able to successfully serve out the set to level up.
Fritz, who ended Nadal's 20-0 match streak in their most recent meeting in the Indian Wells final earlier this year, took a relatively one-sided third set to regain the lead.
Both players struggled to hold in a tense fourth set, which was tied at 5-5 with the serve in Fritz's favour, only for Nadal to show incredible resolve to break and force a decider.
The final set went the way of the serve until a mammoth seventh game when, at the fourth time of asking, Nadal took his big opportunity, yet the fearless Fritz hit back in the next game as the match went the distance.
But it was Nadal who held his nerve in the tie-break, with a stunning cross-court forehand seeing him break Fritz's serve for the first of five points in a row to get over the line in a match spanning four hours and 20 minutes.
Data slam: Nadal taken the distance
Nadal's victory was just his second ever in a fifth-set tie-break at a grand slam, having previously prevailed against Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals of the US Open in 2018.
The Spaniard, who remains on course to meet Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final, now has 19 straight grand slam wins in 2022 – three short of his own record of 21, which he set in 2010.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Nadal – 56/35
Fritz – 56/42
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Nadal – 19/3
Fritz – 5/7
BREAK POINTS WON
Nadal – 8/14
Fritz – 7/14
Paris gets Olympic Games under way with stylish opening ceremony
Paris kicked off the 2024 Olympic Games by making history with the first opening ceremony to be held outside on a rainy night in France.
It is the first time in 100 years that the Games have been held in the French capital, and despite the constant showers, thousands of Olympians from the 205 delegations celebrated as they travelled down the River Seine on boats and barges.
During the nearly four-hour sprawling ceremony, spectators were treated to performances by Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura and Celine Dion as the city showed off the story of France while commemorating Olympic history.
On a tour of the city, Paris' most well-known landmarks, including the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral, were on show as fans packed in around the parade route to get a glimpse of the showcase.
The Olympic flag was delivered to the Eiffel Tower on the back of a mechanical horse travelling down the river, while a masked individual carried the torch across the city.
An incredible light show on the Tower then restarted the torch relay, as Zinedine Zidane reappeared to hand it to two-time gold medallist Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard, with the help of fellow tennis icon Serena Williams, American sprinter Carl Lewis and Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci carried the torch back down the river on its way to the cauldron.
Some of France's best Olympians helped carry it the rest of the way before judoka Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-Jose Perec lit the flame in the hot air balloon cauldron, which rose high above the Parisian sky, to officially mark the start of the Games.
More than 10,500 athletes will compete across 32 sports at the Games, which will close on August 11.
Paris get Olympic Games under way with stylish opening ceremony
Paris kicked off the 2024 Olympic Games by making history with the first opening ceremony to be held outside on a rainy night in France.
It is the first time in 100 years that the Games have been held in the French capital, and despite the constant showers, thousands of Olympians from the 205 delegations celebrated as they travelled down the River Seine on boats and barges.
During the nearly four-hour sprawling ceremony, spectators were treated to performances by Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura and Celine Dion as the city showed off the story of France while commemorating Olympic history.
On a tour of the city, Paris' most well-known landmarks, including the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral, were on show as fans packed in around the parade route to get a glimpse of the showcase.
The Olympic flag was delivered to the Eiffel Tower on the back of a mechanical horse travelling down the river, while a masked individual carried the torch across the city.
An incredible light show on the Tower then restarted the torch relay, as Zinedine Zidane reappeared to hand it to two-time gold medallist Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard, with the help of fellow tennis icon Serena Williams, American sprinter Carl Lewis and Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci carried the torch back down the river on its way to the cauldron.
Some of France's best Olympians helped carry it the rest of the way before judoka Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-Jose Perec lit the flame in the hot air balloon cauldron, which rose high above the Parisian sky, to officially mark the start of the Games.
More than 10,500 athletes will compete across 32 sports at the Games, which will close on August 11.
Djokovic thrilled by prospect of 'one last dance' with Nadal
Novak Djokovic is thrilled by the prospect of meeting Rafael Nadal for "one last dance" at the Paris Olympics, if the Spaniard overcomes an injury setback to feature at Roland-Garros.
Thursday's men's singles draw saw Djokovic paired with Australia's Matthew Ebden in the first round, with Nadal taking on Marton Fucsovics.
The legendary duo – who have won 46 grand slam singles titles between them – will meet in the second round if they both advance through their openers this weekend.
Djokovic and Nadal have previously faced off on 59 occasions, with the Serbian winning 30 of those contests but losing four of the last six, the most recent being a Nadal victory in four sets in the 2022 French Open quarter-finals.
Nadal's participation at the Games was thrown into doubt when his coach Carlos Moya said he had suffered a "setback" on Thursday and required 48 hours of rest.
If Nadal – who is widely expected to retire later this year – does make the tournament, Djokovic is looking forward to the prospect of facing him for a 60th time.
"Obviously he hasn't played much. His ranking dropped, so there was always going to be that possibility of me meeting him in an early round and there we go," Djokovic said.
"It's going to be a spectacle, definitely, if we get to meet. We will spread some fireworks on the court, like the good old times.
"I hope we get to meet because it will probably be one last dance for the both of us."
Djokovic is set to appear at his fifth Olympics in the French capital, the joint-most by any male player since the sport returned to the Games in 1988 (with Yen Hsun Lu).
He is the player with the most matches played (19) and joint-most matches won (13, level with Roger Federer) at the Olympics since 1988.
However, his best result at the Games remains a Bronze medal at Beijing 2008, when he was beaten by eventual gold medallist Nadal in the semi-finals.
Djokovic lost the bronze medal match to Pablo Carreno Busta at the delayed Tokyo Games three years ago, also losing to Juan Martin del Potro at both London 2012 and Rio 2016.
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