Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski successfully defended their Wimbledon mixed doubles crown Thursday by claiming the first trophy on offer this fortnight at The Championships. The American-British pair defeated Australians Matthew Ebden and Sam Stosur 6-4 6-3 to back up their 2021 title run on Centre Court.

“Two in a row baby, at Wimbledon,” Krawczyk said to her partner during the trophy ceremony.

Skupski, who was delighted to be playing in front of his parents at his home Grand Slam, revealed that the pair had not been planning on defending its title until just before the tournament.

“I got a last-minute call from Des to play,” he said. “We weren’t meant to play, so we’ve only been a team for two weeks. We’ll have to go for three next year, if she plays with me,” he added with a smile.

In the title match, the second seeds converted on all three of their break chances in the one-hour, 27-minute final. But it was Ebden/Stosur who had the better of the opening exchanges in both sets.

In a crucial early game, Krawczyk/Skupski battled through 10 deuces and saved two break points to move ahead 3-2 in the opening set. Their hard work paid off when they secured their first break of the match to snatch the opening set in its 10th game.

The Australians scored an early break in set two, but dropped the next four games after leading 2-1. From 4-2, Krawczyk and then Skupski held to love to close out the match.

Krawczyk/Skupski are the first team to repeat as Wimbledon mixed doubles champions since Czech siblings Cyril Suk and Helena Sukova in 1996-97. The last British man to successfully defend a mixed doubles title at The Championships was John Lloyd (1983-84); the last American woman to do so was Billie Jean King (1973-74).

Krawczyk won three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles in 2021, including at Roland Garros and the US Open with doubles World No. 1 Joe Salisbury. 

Despite the mixed doubles loss, Ebden is still standing in the men’s doubles draw. He and partner Max Purcell defeated Skupski and Wesley Koolhof in the Round of 16, and the Australian pair advanced to the final with another five-set victory earlier on Thursday against top seeds Rajeev Ram and Salisbury. They saved five match points in that match and have now won four five-setters this fortnight.

“It’s been an amazing two weeks for you and Max Purcell,” Skupski told his opponent. “I don’t know how you’re still standing. You’ve played about 700 five-set matches. Good luck in the final.”

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from Wimbledon ahead of Friday’s semi-finals due to an abdominal tear, he announced in a Thursday evening press conference at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

“I have been suffering with pain in the abdominal… there is a tear in the muscle,” he said. “I made the decision because I don’t believe I can win two matches under these circumstances.”

The Spaniard struggled with the injury during his five-set quarter-final victory against Taylor Fritz, but said following the match that the problem started days earlier. Despite his father and sister urging him to retire early in that match, Nadal managed to twice come from a set down to advance 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(10-4) after four hours, 20 minutes. Nadal’s first-serve speed dipped significantly as he compensated for the injury, often dropping under 100 mph.

He was set to take on Nick Kyrgios in the semi-finals on Centre Court.

“Not only I can’t serve at the right speed, I can’t do the normal movement to serve,” Nadal explained. “I don’t want to go out there and not be competitive enough to play at the level to achieve my goal. And there is a big chance to make the thing much worse.”

The withdrawal ends Nadal’s bid for the Grand Slam following his titles at the Australian Open and Roland Garros earlier this season. Nadal owns a 35-3 record this season, including four titles. 

Nadal said that by resting now, he hopes to be able to resume his planned schedule within about four weeks. “My hope is in three to four weeks will allow me to do my normal calendar. In one week I will be able to play from baseline without serving. That’s a positive thing,” the Spaniard said.

Kyrgios, who beat Cristian Garin to advance to his first major semi-final, advances to Sunday’s title match with Nadal’s withdrawal. The unseeded Australian awaits the winner of the top-half semi-final matchup between Novak Djokovic and Cameron Norrie.

Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell’s hopes appeared all but over in their Wimbledon semi-final against top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury on Thursday, but the Australian pair turned things around in spectacular style to seal a championship match spot at the grass-court Grand Slam.

Ebden and Purcell fended off five match points for their opponents in the third-set tie-break, a pivotal moment in their 3-6, 6-7(1), 7-6(9), 6-4, 6-2 victory on No. 1 Court. The 14th seeds used the momentum from that third-set escape to dominate the second half of an enthralling three-hour, 59-minute encounter, breaking serve four times to reach their second major final of the season.

It is the second time that Ebden and Purcell have beaten Ram and Salisbury in a Grand Slam semi-final this year, having also defeated the American-British duo in the last four at January’s Australian Open. Thursday’s win in London extended the pair’s Grand Slam match record to 13-3.

Awaiting the Australian pair in Saturday’s final will be defending champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, who also erased a match point as they went the distance against 2019 winners Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.

The second seeds twice came from a set down to earn a 6-7(2), 7-6(0), 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(10-4) victory after four hours, 22 minutes. Between the two semi-final matches, No. 1 Court saw more than eight hours of doubles action on Thursday.

There was just one break point in the final set, but it doubled as match point with Mektic serving at 4-5. The Croatian saved it with a big serve to ultimately force a 10-point tie-break to decide who would advance to the title match.

From 2-3, Mektic/Pavic won four straight points, including two on the Farah serve, to gain an advantage they would not relinquish. Despite losing one mini-break as their opponents closed to 6-4, the Croatian team won the final four points of the match to keep its title defence alive.

Rafael Nadal’s team implored him to retire after the Spaniard had treatment on an abdominal issue in the second set of his thrilling quarter-final win against Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon on Wednesday. With an unbeaten record at major tournaments in 2022 on the line and just three retirements in his past decade on Tour, however, that decision was never going to sit well with the two-time champion.

“They told me I needed to retire from the match,” said Nadal in his post-match press conference after his dramatic 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(10-4) win. “For me it was tough to retire in the middle of the match. [It was] not easy, even if I had that idea for such a long time.

“I did it a couple of times in my tennis career. It’s something that I hate to do. So, I just kept trying, and that’s it.”

Clearly in discomfort and unable to serve at full power on Centre Court, Nadal showcased his trademark resilience to rally and clinch a stunning four-hour, 20-minute victory. He admitted that it was less the medical time-out and more his desire to see things through to the end that enabled him to carry on.

“They can’t do much [in the medical time-out], honestly,” said the 36-year-old. “The doctor came, gave me some anti-inflammatories and analgesic. The physio just tried to relax the muscle there a little bit, but it’s difficult. Nothing can be fixed when you have a thing like this. That’s it.

“I just wanted to give myself a chance. [It is] not easy to leave the tournament, not easy to leave Wimbledon, even if the pain was hard.”

It is the second time in the space of four months that Nadal was facing Fritz carrying an injury. The 92-time tour-level titlist played with a fractured rib in his championship match defeat to the American at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells in March. Just as on that occasion, his determination to see things through was strong, regardless of the eventual outcome of the match.

“I wanted to finish,” said Nadal. “Doesn’t matter. I prefer to win with victory or defeat. That’s what I did, I fought. I’m proud of the fighting spirit and the way that I managed to be competitive under those conditions.”

Any potential retirement would not only have cost Nadal his shot at a third Wimbledon crown. The Spaniard is also chasing a historic Grand Slam after he won the Australian Open in January and Roland Garros in June. That goal will be put to the test again in a semi-final clash with Nick Kyrgios, and Nadal was not jumping to any conclusions about his fitness for Friday’s match.

“Tomorrow I‘m going to have some more tests… I had these feelings for a couple of days. Without a doubt, today was the worst day. There has been an important increase of pain and limitation.

“I need to know different opinions and I need to check everything the proper way. That is something more important than winning Wimbledon, that is health. Let’s see how this goes.”

Taylor Fritz came close to the biggest win of his career on Wednesday at Wimbledon against Rafael Nadal. But instead of advancing to his first major semi-final, the American lost against the 22-time major winner in a final-set tie-break and walked off court shattered.

“It was a tough match. I think I did some things well and some things not as good. In the end he was just really, really, really good,” Fritz said. “Certain parts of the match I felt like maybe I kind of just needed to come up with more, do more. I left a lot up to him, and he delivered. It was a great match. Honestly, probably hurts more than any loss I’ve ever had.”

The 24-year-old showed his dismay as he walked to the net to shake hands with Nadal, and took a moment at his chair before leaving the court.

“After the match was over, I was sitting there and I felt like crying, like I wanted to cry,” Fritz said. “I’ve never felt like that ever after a loss. I’ve never felt like I could cry after a loss. Just that’s telling enough to know that this one hurt more than any other one’s hurt before.”

The good news for Fritz is that he pushed the two-time Wimbledon champion to the absolute limits in his first major quarter-final. Although he was unable to claw past the Spaniard, Fritz showed he is capable of testing the best in the sport on tennis’ biggest stages.

“Taking a step back, it’s nice. I made my first quarter-final. I’m moving in the right direction,” Fritz said. “I don’t know. I would look at my form and how I feel like I’ve been playing and my draw, and I would expect myself to make the quarter-finals. It’s a great achievement, I’m really happy.

“I really, really wanted this match. So it’s tough right now I guess to look at the bright side of things because I really, really wanted this one.”

Earlier this year, Fritz defeated Nadal in the BNP Paribas Open final to lift his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy. The American carried confidence from that victory into their clash at SW19, but was unable to replicate the result.

“At Indian Wells I truly believed that I could win, and I truly believed that I could beat him. The same goes for today. It’s kind of just the attitude you have to have,” Fritz said. “These guys, they’re so good at Slams. But a lot of beating them is also kind of beating the name you’re playing against, just having that belief that you can do it.

“I think that’s a big hurdle to get over. I think that’s something that has definitely changed for me more recently, is that I do believe they’re beatable. But it still takes a hell of an effort to be able to beat them.”