Wimbledon 2022 Day 8: Rafael Nadal advances, Nick Kyrgios overcomes injury in win, Taylor Fritz and Simona Halep move on

Wimbledon rolls on today as eight men and eight women compete for limited spots in the quarterfinals at the All England Club. Rafael Nadal and Americans Taylor Fritz and Brandon Nakashima are notable players left on the men's side. At the same time, Paula Badosa, Simona Halep and Amanda Anisimova will continue to compete on the women's side.

Day 7 featured some surprises: Novak Djokovic pulled off a tighter-than-expected win over Tim van Rijthoven and Ons Jabeur breezed to the women's semifinal, but Carlos Alcaraz and two American competitors lost. Click here for a full recap of the day.

Nadal advances to eighth Wimbledon quarterfinal

It took a third set tiebreaker, but Rafael Nadal of Spain is on to to another quarterfinal after beating Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands 6-4 6-2 7-6(6). Nadal, the No. 2 seed, endured a few bumps in the first before dominating the second set against the No. 21-seeded van de Zandschulp. But an iconic third set saw the two players battle for control before Nadal won the tiebreaker after an error by van de Zandschulp.

Halep cruises back quarterfinals

Simona Halep is back. The 16th-seeded Romanian easily beat fourth-seeded Paula Badosa of Spain in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 in just one hour. This is an especially special moment for Halep, who never had the chance to defend her 2019 Wimbledon title after missing the past two tournaments – first because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and then because of injury.

Anisimova onto the quarterfinals

Anisimova joined Fritz as the only Americans left at Wimbledon with a straight sets victory over Frenchwoman Harmony Tan 6-2, 6-3. The 20th-seeded Anisimova won four break points to roll into the quarterfinals in a match with Simon Halep.

Kyrgios overcomes injury to beat Nakashima

Nick Kyrgios will return to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2014 after a back-and-forth battle with Brandon Nakashima. The Australian defeated the American 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2. Kyrgios suffered an apparent shoulder injury that needed medical attention early in the match, but finished strong after Nakashima forced a crucial fifth set.

Fritz only American man left after win

Taylor Fritz did what Nakashima could not and advanced to the quarterfinals with a win over Jason Kubler in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. The 11th-seed is the only American man left in the competition.

Garín upsets De Minaur

Our first upset of the day came at the hands of Chilean Cristian Garín, who took down 19th-seeded Alex De Minaur of Australia 2-6 5-7 7-6(3) 6-4 7-6(6). After losing the first two sets, Garín rallied to win the final three, which included two tiebreakers in the third and final sets. The win advanced Garín to the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career. Garín is also the first player in the competition to recover from being down two sets and win.

Other notable results

• Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan easily defeated Petra Martić of Croatia in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3. The 17th-seeded Rybakina reached the first Wimbledon quarterfinal of her career and became the second Kazakh to advance this far since 2016.

• Ajla Tomljanović of Australia rallied from a loss in the first set to beat Alizé Cornet of France 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Tomljanović is the first Australian woman to reach back-to-back Wimbledon quarterfinals since Jelena Dokic did it from 1999-2000.