Warrior Nadal downs Del Potro in thriller to reach semis

LONDON: It was a breathless Wimbledon contest that kept on giving for almost five hours – diving volleys, ferocious forehands, blazing backhands and even acrobatic tumbles – and at the end of it all Rafael Nadal was the one left standing.

Juan Martin Del Potro lay sprawled face down on the slippery and dusty Centre Court turf as Nadal punched away a final backhand volley to seal a 7-5, 6-7 (7-9), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win that took him into the semi-finals for the first time since 2011.

“It was a very emotional match ... great quality tennis, especially in the last set there were some amazing points.

“Sorry to Juan Martin, he’s an amazing opponent and amazing player.

“In some ways he deserves victory too,” a gasping Nadal said after setting up a blockbuster semi-final with Novak Djokovic.

“The last set had a little bit of everything, great points, great rallies, he was hitting crazy with his forehands.

“I tried to resist, maintaining focus. It’s a day to be happy.”

Del Potro threw everything he could at Nadal in a pulsating match and even conjured the shot of the tournament as he acrobatically dived to his right to hit a fizzing forehand volley that ended a spellbinding 23-shot rally.

Even then he was left flat on his stomach as his racquet went flying out of his hand.

He picked himself up and dusted himself down to play on for another eight games but it was a different story an hour later when there was nothing left to fight for. Victory secured, Nadal climbed over the net and ran over to the baseline to help the distraught Del Potro back to his feet. It was that kind of match.

“Rafa is a fighter. I was close to beating him and I couldn’t.

“Sometimes you play your best tennis and it’s not enough to beat him,” said the teary-eyed Argentine, who has had the misfortune of running into Nadal at the French Open and Wimbledon championships over the past five weeks.

“He deserved to win today. After almost five hours, I fell down.

“I wanted to stay there for all night long. But Rafa came to me and we shared a big hug and it was kind of him.”