Rafael Nadal left Taylor Fritz ‘wanting to cry’ after ‘loss that hurts the most’ at Wimbledon

Rafael Nadal left Taylor Fritz feeling the worst he ever has after a loss on Wednesday as the Indian Wells champion failed to dominate his physically depleted opponent.

On another astonishing day in the career of Nadal, the Spaniard won a five-set epic 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-4) despite looking on the verge of retirement as early as the second set. 

With the 22-time Major champion beginning to suffer from an abdominal injury in that set and with Fritz a set up, the American was presented with a window to stamp out Nadal.

After failing to do so, Fritz admitted in his post-match press conference that this is the worst he has ever felt after a match. 

He said: “I feel confident saying this is number one because literally 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. I’ve never felt like I could cry after a loss. That’s telling enough to know that this one hurt more than any other one’s hurt before.”

Fritz did say he is still proud of his achievement in reaching a first Slam quarter-final, but that does not help the hurt. 

He added: “It’s tough right now I guess to look at the bright side of things because I really, really wanted this one.”

As Nadal advances he will face Nick Kyrgios in the last four, that is if he is fit enough to step on court.

It will be their third meeting at Wimbledon, the pair splitting their SW19 head-to-head 1-1.

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