Nadal produced another dramatic show on Wednesday at Wimbledon, where the Spaniard held off a high-powered performance from Taylor Fritz to reach the semi-finals in London.
The second seed showcased trademark strength, increasing his aggression to keep points short and delivering a high-class deciding-set tie-break to seal a 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(10-4) victory.
The Spaniard showcased his trademark fighting spirit to overcome a tricky test from Francisco Cerundolo, advancing 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 after three hours and 36 minutes.
Second seed Rafael Nadal will play Argentina's world number 42 Francisco Cerundolo in the first round while young sensation Carlos Alcaraz will take on Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff.
The defending champion is the top seed after the Russian world number one Daniil Medvedev got banned from taking part while German world number two Alexander Zverev is out due to injury.
Last week, Medvedev was in action at the Libema Open, where he marched to his second tour-level final on grass at the ATP 250 event. Meanwhile, Medvedev's rise comes after Novak Djokovic failed to defend his crown at the French Open.