“I hope for nothing anymore,” says Nadal after the triumph
Status: 10:19 am
For months, training was unthinkable for Rafael Nadal. At the Australian Open he is about to crown his comeback
Quelle: AP/Andy Brownbill
Rafael Nadal has been missing from the tennis tour for months because of his foot injury. The start at the Australian Open has been uncertain for a long time. Now the Spanish tennis star is actually in the final and can make history there.
Rafael Nadal is on course to gild his impressive comeback. The Spanish tennis star is actually reaching for his 21st Grand Slam title and the record at the Australian Open two weeks after Novak Djokovic was forced to leave the country. Thanks to a 6: 3, 6: 2, 3: 6, 6: 3 against the Italian Matteo Berrettini, Nadal made it into his first Melbourne final in three years on Friday.
“It means a lot to me to be back in the finals here,” Nadal said when interviewed after his 500th hard court win at Rod Laver Arena. In the final on Sunday, the number five in the world will face the Russian US Open champion Daniil Medvedev or the Greek world number four Stefanos Tsitsipas. The second semi-final was on Friday in the night session (9.30 a.m. German time/Eurosport).
Nadal had impressively mastered the duel with Berrettini for two sentences, then his strength seemed to diminish, but he bit through. 13 years after his only Australian Open victory so far, Nadal’s prospects are bright, provided he is fit enough for another match.
After a month-long break from the tournament and a complicated foot injury, the Spaniard can believe in total triumph: missing a win, the 35-year-old leaves his rivals Djokovic and Roger Federer, who were not present in Melbourne, behind in the fascinating Grand Slam title race. “For me it’s about the Australian Open – more than anything else,” said Nadal after entering the final.
Nadal reaches for title number 21
All three are currently at 20 trophies each in the four most important tournaments. Melbourne record champion Djokovic was the favorite for Australia, but the unvaccinated Serb had to leave the country before the start of the tournament because his visa was cancelled. The Swiss Federer has doubts about his comeback because of his long-term knee problems.
Shortly before Nadal’s semifinals it had started to pour in Melbourne, the temperature dropped from 32 to 22 degrees. The fact that it was significantly cooler in the Rod Laver Arena than on the previous days should have helped Nadal. Under the closed roof, the game started as he might have wished. The left-hander quickly took the lead 3-0. Of course, Nadal understood that he should avoid Berrettini’s forehand. He often pushed the world number seven into his weaker backhand corner and thus scored points. He used his fourth set ball.
In the second period, the 2009 Melbourne winners pulled away 4-0 before the Italian broke his serve. Nadal shooed Berrettini from left to right, using his power and precision shots to control the first Italian men’s semi-finalist at the Australian Open.
From the third set the match was much more balanced. Suddenly Nadal had to accept his first loss of service at 3: 5, shortly afterwards the set was gone. There were a few memories of the quarter-finals on Tuesday, when Nadal collapsed against Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the middle of the third set with stomach problems and felt “destroyed”.
Sixth final in Melbourne
This time, too, the forces seemed to slack off. Nadal no longer dominated from the baseline as he did in sentences one and two. However, he got two break chances at 4:3 thanks to the help of Berrettini. The Spaniard missed the first, but the Italian’s forehand landed in the net on the second. It was the preliminary decision.
Keeping an eye on the ball: Nadal only weakened in the third set in the semifinals
Source: dpa-infocom GmbH
The fact that Nadal is now in the final of the Australian Open for the sixth time was not necessarily to be expected. He missed Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open because of his foot problems. Shortly before Christmas he became infected with the corona virus – another setback. “I never thought of a second chance in 2022,” he said now.
Nadal was asked before the semifinals what it would mean for him to leave Djokovic and Federer behind with the 21st title. “I don’t hope for anything anymore. I just want to keep playing because that’s what gives me the most joy,” he replied. “I don’t think my happiness depends on whether I win more Grand Slam tournaments than others or others more than me.”
