The Spanish record Grand Slam champion has reached the semi-finals in Melbourne. In an emotional five-sentence thriller, he used his last strength to defeat Denis Shapovalov.
Rafael Nadal is in the semifinals of the Australian Open. The 20-time Grand Slam winner threw Denis Shapovalov out of the tournament in a tennis battle lasting more than four hours. It was 6: 3, 6: 4, 4: 6, 3: 6, 6: 3 after exactly 4:08 hours. In the round of 16, Canadian Shapovalov ended Alexander Zverev’s hopes for the title.
Nadal initially showed a strong performance. Towards the end of the third sentence, however, the dominance crumbled – a little later the Mallorcan took a break from treatment, indicated pain in the stomach area and had the doctor hand him some medication. When changing sides, he kept having cold air blown in his face from a cooling hose, before the decisive round he took a short break in the dressing room – and came back walking on his gums with irrepressible fighting qualities against the then much too hectic Canadian.
Nadal: “I was completely destroyed”
At the end of the match, Nadal literally dragged himself across the pitch with his last strength. After the match, he said: “I suddenly started having stomach pains. Then I got a few pills to improve the situation. That only worked to a limited extent. I was lucky that I served so well in the fifth set. “
Nadal is in the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the seventh time. The Spaniard was overjoyed: “I was completely devastated after this hard, warm day. It’s incredible for me to be in this semi-final.”
In the fight for entry into the final, world number five Nadal will meet Italian Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini or Frenchman Gael Monfils on Friday. Nadal is aiming for his 21st Grand Slam title, which would make him the sole record winner of the four major tournaments.