"Not just mentally tough, Rafael Nadal is a total genius" - former tennis player Mark Petchey

Winning his 18th Grand Slam match in a row, Rafael Nadal reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the eighth time in his career. He is undefeated at the Majors so far in 2022.

In his fourth-round match, the World No. 4 Spanish legend defeated Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(6) in two hours and 21 minutes to book a spot in the last eight, inching closer towards a third Wimbledon title. This is the first time in Nadal's extraordinary career that he has reached SW19 having won both the Australian and French Open in the same year.

If the 36-year-old goes all the way and wins the grasscourt Major this Sunday, he will have an opportunity to achieve the Calendar Slam at the 2022 US Open. Former British player Mark Petchey took to social media to praise Nadal, along with other current greats of the game, for their mental toughness and outstanding athleticism.

"Not just mental tough - a total genius @RafaelNadal last shot. They are all mentally tough these great Champions but first and foremost they are incredible athletes and technically the best," Petchey tweeted.

In the post-match on-court interview, the second seed expressed his happiness at playing the way he did and reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals without playing on grass for three years.

"I continued in a positive way I think, until the end when I played a bad game at 5-3, it had been a very positive match against a difficult opponent. Botic has been improving unbelievably in the last year, so huge congratulations to him this amazing improvement. In a personal way, after all the things that happened the last couple of months, to be able to be in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon after three years without playing here, it's amazing for me, so I'm very, very happy," Nadal said.

Rafael Nadal to lock horns with Taylor Fritz in quarterfinals

Rafael Nadal during his fourth-round match

Rafael Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam champion, will square off against World No. 14 Taylor Fritz to fight for a spot in the semifinals on wednesday. The two players have met twice in the past, winning a match each on a hard surface. While the Spaniard beat the 24-year-old in the Mexican Open final in 2020, the American returned the favor by defeating Nadal in the Indian Wells final in March this year.

After yesterday's match, the two-time Wimbledon winner said that the quarterfinal clash is not going to be easy against the 11th seed American.

"He's playing well. He's having an amazing year, winning his first Masters 1000 — against me, by the way, in the final. It's going to be a tough match, but we are in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, so what can I expect?" Nadal said.