Despite defeating American Taylor Fritz in the Wimbledon semi-finals, Rafael Nadal's chances of completing the calendar Grand Slam are still alive.
Fritz grew into the game with his confidence clear, and Nadal struggled to deal with the power and energy of Fritz who took control early on.
Both Fritz and Nadal suffered injuries during the mammoth match, which was attended to by the physiotherapists.
World No. 14 lost his dream run against 22-time Grand Slam champion Nick Kyrgios during the Wimbledon Championships after putting on his best performance at a major tournament.
A partisan crowd and several injury stoppages hindered Nadal's bid for his first Wimbledon title since 2010. Fritz, however, showed maturity beyond his years to contest the stunning five-set match.
A vicious overhead smash at the net sealed Nadal's break of Fritz's serve, just as Djokovic did yesterday. As Rod Laver watched from the Royal Box, the Spaniard held serve and took a 2-0 lead.
During 1962 and 1969, the Australian won each of the four Grand Slams. Despite winning in Melbourne and on Parisian clay, Nadal was looking to emulate Laver.
After Fritz somehow reached Nadal's stunning forehand, the Spaniard ended the match with a sublime drop shot to take a 4-3 lead.
Nadal recovered to make it 5-5, but Fritz hit back by sensationally breaking the Spaniard's serve before holding his own game to make it 5-4.