Rafael Nadal reaches his third consecutive Wimbledon quarter-final: Key stats
Spanish ace Rafael Nadal stormed into the quarter-final of 2022 Wimbledon after beating Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(6) on Monday. The Spaniard reached this stage at The Championships for his third straight season (he missed the tournament last year). Notably, Nadal played his 350th Grand Slam main-draw match. He is vying to claim his third Wimbledon and a record-extending 23rd major title.
Nadal has qualified for his eighth quarter-final at Wimbledon. Overall, he will feature in his 47th Grand Slam quarter-final. He is only behind Roger Federer (58) and Novak Djokovic (52) in this regard. It will be Nadal's 16th consecutive quarter-final appearance at majors. He has reached this stage at each of the majors he featured in since the 2017 US Open.
As per Opta, Nadal has become just the third man to play 350 Grand Slam main-draw matches (Open Era). Federer (429) and Djokovic (378) occupy the top two spots, respectively. Nadal is now unbeaten in his first 18 major matches in 2022. As per Opta, only Djokovic (2021) and Rod Laver (1969) have won more major matches since the season's start (Open Era).
Nadal will next face 11th seed Taylor Fritz in the last-eight clash. The Spaniard would aim to reach his third Wimbledon semi-final in his last three appearances. Nadal lost to long-time rival Djokovic in the 2018 semi-final, while the former fell to Roger Federer in 2019. Nadal hasn't gone past the Wimbledon semis since the 2011 edition.
By winning the 2022 French Open, Nadal extended his Grand Slams tally to 22. The Spaniard has won two of those titles at Wimbledon (2008 and 2010). He has the required form to win his third Wimbledon honor this time. With a win over Botic, Nadal has extended his win-loss record in the grass-court Slam to 57-12.
In 2010, Nadal overcame Tomas Berdych to clinch his second Wimbledon title. He became the first Big Three player to achieve the Channel Slam (French Open-Wimbledon double) twice. Notably, Borg has won Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year thrice (1978-80). If Nadal wins Wimbledon this time, he will become the first man since Borg to win the Channel Slam on three occasions.
Nadal has been on a roll in 2022, having won the third-most matches (34-3) after Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard has already won the Australian Open and the French Open. Nadal also won in Acapulco and Melbourne.
