A year after being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open by Stefanos Tsitsipas after leading two sets to nothing, Rafael Nadal has seen the ghosts of the past reappear. While he was perfectly on board against Denis Shapovalov (22 years old, 14th in the world), after winning the first two sets, the Mallorcan (35 years old, 5th) saw the Canadian return to equality before winning in the 5th round (6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3).
Abused at the start of the match, Denis Shapovalov called out the chair umpire Carlos Bernardes for not having sanctioned Rafael Nadal, who took too long for his taste to prepare between the points. The tone rose at the start of the second set. “You are all corrupt” blurted out to the referee the Canadian, who lost the round, before finally entering the match.
Suffering from the stomach since the start of the fourth set, embarrassed in his movements and in the service, Nadal, well helped by the inconstancy of his opponent, however managed to get by by winning the fifth set 6-3. “I don’t know how I won,” he admitted. I was destroyed and lucky at the start of the fifth set. I had my chances at the start of the third set but I started to feel tired and he pushed me to my limits. »
“I took a stamp”
The Spaniard considered it “incredible” to find himself in the semi-finals. “Two months ago, I didn’t even know if I would be able to just come back to the circuit,” he said of the left foot injury that forced him to end his season. 2021 in early August, then from the grueling covid he contracted in December.
After leaving the court for a “medical evaluation” before starting the fifth set, Nadal returned and made the entry break. “They took my blood pressure, checked that everything was OK and I took a pill,” he explained. The Spaniard will play his seventh semi-final in Melbourne on Friday against the winner of the match between Matteo Berrettini and Gaël Monfils and is aiming for a 21st Grand Slam success in the absence of world number one Novak Djokovic.
Earlier in the day, in the women’s category, the American Madison Keys, 51st in the world, qualified for the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday by beating the Czech Barbora Krejcikova (4th) 6-3 , 6-2 in blistering heat.
“I think I’m going to cry…”, were the first words of the 26-year-old American who had already reached the last four of the Australian Major in 2015. This year, she will face Thursday for a place in the final her compatriot Jessica Pegula (21st) or the world N.1 Ashleigh Barty.
