Rafael Nadal battles back from the brink to brilliantly reach Wimbledon semis

Rafael Nadal engineered a remarkable victory against Taylor Fritz (Adam Davy/PA)

An ailing Rafael Nadal conjured one of his more extraordinary grand slam victories by surviving a five-set battle with Taylor Fritz to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.

It was American Fritz who halted Nadal’s winning start to the season at 20 matches in the Indian Wells final in March when the Spaniard was hampered by a fractured rib, and it appeared history was repeating itself.