(Tennis news) Rafael Nadal reached his eighth Wimbledon quarter-final after defeating Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4 6-2 7-6 (8-6) in two hours and 22 minutes at the Centre Court. The 36 year old Spaniard remains on course for a calendar slam and will now face Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals. In the on-court interview after the match, Nadal said “I am a little bit tired to talk about my body. Sometimes I am tired about myself and all the issues that I am having. I prefer to not talk about that now. Sorry for that.

"But I am in the middle of the tournament and I have to keep going. All respect for the rest of the opponents. I am just trying my best every single day. For the moment I am healthy enough to keep going and fight for the things that I want. It takes a lot of mental and physical effort to try to play this tournament after the things that I went through the last couple of months. But as everybody knows, Wimbledon is a tournament that I like so much. I have been three years without playing here. I really wanted to be back. That's what I am doing. So that's why it means a lot for me to be in the quarter-finals." 

Taylor Fritz defeated Australia's Jason Kubler 6-3 6-1 6-4 to set up a match against Nadal in the quarter-finals. The 24 year old hasn’t dropped a single set at the tournament yet and won his eighth straight victory on the grass surface, having played at Eastbourne before Wimbledon began. Speaking after the match, Fritz said “My first Grand Slam quarter-final, that's really a big deal. Part of the final eight and… I'm glad I could get the win on the Fourth of July, being American." 

In other results, Nick Kyrgios also reached the quarter-finals after a five set win over Brandon Nakashima,  winning 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-2. The Australian tennis player was on his best behaviour after a fiery clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas and successfully made it to the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in seven years. During the on-court interview after the match, Kyrgios said “It wasn't near my best performance, level wise, but I'm just super, super happy to get through. I've never lost a fifth set here. Honestly, that's what I was thinking about. I was like, I've been here before, I've done it before and I came through again." 

Meanwhile, British tennis player Cameron Norrie will face David Goffin in the quarter-finals after defeating Tommy Paul 6-4 7-5 6-4. When asked about being the only British player still playing at Wimbledon, Norrie said “I'll take it. At the beginning of the tournament, you guys were asking me, 'You're British No 1, you got a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations on your shoulders'. For me to play the way that I did in all my matches so far means a lot. Unfortunately I'm the last one standing. But I think it's even more reason for everyone to get behind me. The atmosphere was great today and definitely helped me get over the line there. Especially on that last game, I was obviously pretty nervous. I was serving for my first quarter-final of a Slam. I wanted to get it done there.

"It's great to be through to the quarters. But no reason to be satisfied. I want to keep pushing. I'm looking forward to the next match. Another challenge. Very experienced player. There's still a long way to go, but it's pretty nice to tick the box making the quarters. I feel like I'm improving and my level is getting better. Definitely a little bit more calm in the bigger matches. It's nice to do it that way round." 

As for Goffin, the 31 year old is playing at Wimbledon after a year’s gap, having suffered an ankle injury in the 2021 edition and was subsequently ruled out due to a knee problem. However, he reached the quarter-finals after defeating Frances Tiafoe in four hours and 36 minutes. He said “I have another opportunity to play on Centre Court to try to have a win, finally to have a win on Centre Court. I didn't have any chances. I had [Andy] Murray and I had [Novak] Djokovic. Not easy," said the former world No 7. 

"Another British, against Cameron. He played less than me. He played well from the start of the tournament. He played really well. He's very consistent. He's a tough opponent to play, but I will try to recover. That's the most important now, today and tomorrow, try to be ready to play against the whole country." 

Also read: Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic to face Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals