In some ways, it was the sweetest of victories: Rafael Nadal somehow overcame a severe abdominal muscle injury and five sets of whatever Taylor Fritz could throw at him to reach the semi-finals. 

And yet, it was the bitterest of pills to swallow: Nadal has no idea if, after those four hours and 21 minutes of pain and effort, whether he will be able to play Nick Kyrgios on Friday.

“Tomorrow I’m going to have some more tests,” he said. “But difficult to know. It's obvious that I am a player who had a lot of things in my tennis career, so I am used to have things and I am used to hold pain and to play with problems. Knowing that, when I feel something like I felt, that is because something is not going the proper way in abdominal. 

“But let's see. It's obvious that today is nothing new. I had these feelings for a couple of days. Without a doubt, today was the worst day. Have been an important increase of pain and limitation. And that's it.

“I managed to win that match. Let's see what's going on tomorrow.”

What makes it even worse is that after all the issues he had with his left foot before The Championships began – the foot, thankfully, seems to be fine for the moment – he had played himself into top form over the last four rounds to get to the quarter-final. Until that ab muscle started to hurt, he was feeling confident. 

“I'm playing great,” he said. “No, no, I am enjoying a lot. The level of tennis, if we put away the problems, something that's difficult, the level of tennis, the feeling that I am having with the ball on my hand is honestly great. I am feeling myself playing very well.”

But now? “I’m worried now, honestly,” he said with a shrug.

Obviously, his team, friends and family all knew about the injury before he stepped on court – and they knew just how serious it was. So when he stopped and called for the trainer at 4-3 in the second set, his father and his sister were both signalling to him to withdraw. Enough pain was enough.

“They told me I need to retire the match, yeah,” he admitted. “Well, I tried. For me was tough to retire in the middle of the match. Not easy even if I had that idea for such a long time [in the match].

“But in the other hand, I did it a couple of times in my tennis career. Is something that I hate to do it. So I just keep trying.

“Doctor came, give me some anti-inflammatories. The physio just tried to relax a little bit the muscle there. But it's difficult. Nothing can be fixed when you have a thing like this.

“I just wanted to give myself a chance. Not easy to leave the tournament. Not easy to leave Wimbledon, even if the pain was hard. I wanted to finish. Doesn't matter. Well, I prefer to win, with victory or defeat. That's what I did. I fighted. Proud about the fighting spirit and the way that I managed to be competitive under those conditions.”

Nadal is 36; he has a chronic condition that means that, even after all the treatment and surgical procedures, his left foot problems could flare up again. He knows that his days are numbered as a professional, competitive player. As a result, he wants to make the most of every moment he has left.

Do not be surprised if he does come back for Friday’s semi-final. Just keep everything crossed that all the tests and scans he plans to have on Thursday morning show that damage to the muscle is not too severe.

Nadal can deal with pain, as he showed on Wednesday. But he will not put his long-term health at risk for the sake of a tennis match. Even if it is a Wimbledon semi-final.

“The decision at the end - all the decisions - are the player decision,” he said. “But at the same time, I need to know different opinions and I need to check everything the proper way.

“That is even something more important than win Wimbledon, that is the health. Let's see how this is going.”

Click here to join myWimbledon for a range of exclusive benefits, including access to tickets and the ability to personalise your digital experience with us.

Following along from home this year? You can still experience the classic Wimbledon atmosphere on the Virtual Hill, presented by our Official Partner American Express