• Wimbledon, Day Seven

Nadal shakes off injury scare to reach last-eight

ESPN staff
June 27, 2011
Rafael Nadal survived a huge test in the shape of Juan Martin del Potro © PA Photos
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Rafael Nadal survived an injury scare to see off the challenge of Juan Martin del Potro to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

The world No. 1, who received treatment on an ankle injury, remained on course to defend his title after digging deep to secure a 7-6(6) 3-6 7-6(4) 6-4 victory.

In a high-quality encounter on Centre Court, both players took medical timeouts - Nadal for treatment on an ankle problem; Del Potro after landing awkwardly on his hip - but Nadal emerged triumphant after three hours and 52 minutes.

Nadal looked to be in real trouble after calling for the trainer with the first set poised to go into a tiebreak. Del Potro was clearly unhappy at the delay, but when play resumed, it was the Argentine who stormed to a 3-0 lead. However Nadal dug deep to take the opening set, despite moving gingerly on his left foot.

But del Potro refused to be beaten and bounced back to level after breaking Nadal's serve for the only time in the match. Nadal was unable to find a way through the former US Open champion's serve, and was forced to rely on another tiebreak to clinch the third.

However, a whipped forehand finally secured Nadal's first break to take a 3-2 lead in the fourth set, and the Spaniard closed out the match with the light fading after nearly four hours of play.

Nadal will now play American Mardy Fish, who defeated last year's finalist Tomas Berdych in straight sets. The No. 10 seed did not drop his serve as he clinched the opening set tiebreak before streaking away to a 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4 victory.

Roger Federer dropped his first set of the tournament © Getty Images
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Roger Federer recovered from dropping the first set to overpower Mikhail Youzhny to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for a ninth successive year. The No. 3 seed claimed his 100th career victory on grass to reach a 29th consecutive grand slam quarter-final with a 6-7(5) 6-3 6-3 6-3 victory on Court One.

Federer looked to be in control of the opening set tiebreak, only for Youzhny to capitalise on some uncharacteristic errors from the six-time champion as the Russian took a surprise lead. However, Federer bounced back with a confident performance to secure a quarter-final clash against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who defeated seventh seed David Ferrer 6-3 6-4 7-6(1).

On a day of upsets in the women's draw, there was no drama for Novak Djokovic, who set up a mouth-watering quarter-final clash with qualifier Bernard Tomic after breezing past Michael Llodra in straight sets. Two days after his wobble against Marcos Baghdatis, Djokovic looked to be back to his best as he cruised to a 6-3 6-3 6-3 victory in a little over an hour-and-a-half.

Next up for the second seed is Australian teenager, Bernard Tomic who stormed into the quarter-finals with a 6-1 7-5 6-4 victory over Xavier Malisse. The 18-year-old is the youngest Wimbledon quarter-finalist since Boris Becker in 1986.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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