Reef Nadalsixth seed, qualifies for the semifinals of the Open de Australia by beating the Canadian Denis Dhapovalov (14) by 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6 and 6-3.
Nadal will seek the pass to the final against the Italian Matteo Berrettini (7), who has beaten the French Gael Monfils (17) in another five-set match 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2.
The dream of Grand Slam number 21 still alive in Melbourne for the Spaniard: he is already only two games away from beating Federer and Djokovic.
And it is that a beast is loose in the Rod Laver Arena: The man from Manacor, with a broken foot bone, has recovered from his stomach problems to win an epic five-set match that lasted until the four hours and eight minutes.
fight with the judge
The Spaniard needed the assistance of the physiotherapist during the course of the fourth set and retired to the changing rooms after the end of this set, a fact that caused the anger of a Shapovalov who had already had an argument with the judge Carlos Bernardes and Nadal himself complaining that the Spaniard was using up too much time between points during the first round.
The sixth-ranked world player reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam by 36th time and approached the Serbian Novak Djokovic, who has 42 appearances and ranks second on a list led by the Swiss Roger Federer with 46 appearances.
He also became the fourth oldest player in the ‘Open Era’, at 35 years and 241 days, to overcome the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park and was placed behind the local Ken Rosewell, Federer and the Australian Malcolm Anderson.
It is the seventh time that the Spaniard gets into the semifinals: “I don’t know how I won. I was lucky at the beginning of the fifth set. Shapovalov is very talented, he serves very well, especially with the second serve.”
“Being in the semifinals is a gift of life because two months ago I didn’t know if I was going to play again”
He also spoke after the game about his stomach problems: “I started to feel tired. It’s incredible to be in the semi-finals and it’s a gift of life because two months ago I didn’t know if I was going to play again. the game and they took my blood pressure and everything was fine with my body. I have two days off until the semifinals. I’m not 21 anymore. I feel good physically at the mobility level, but the conditions were tougher than the last two weeks.”
