Melbourne: Showing his legendary fight and grit that has defined his career, Rafael Nadal overcame an abdominal injury to beat Denis Shapovalov in a five-set quarterfinal and reach the 2022 Australian Open semifinal, here on Tuesday. Playing in his 14th Melbourne quarterfinal, Nadal battled through to his seventh semifinal with a 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, […]
Melbourne: Showing his legendary fight and grit that has defined his career, Rafael Nadal overcame an abdominal injury to beat Denis Shapovalov in a five-set quarterfinal and reach the 2022 Australian Open semifinal, here on Tuesday.
Playing in his 14th Melbourne quarterfinal, Nadal battled through to his seventh semifinal with a 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 win over Canada’s Shapovalov in four hours and seven minutes. “I was completely destroyed after that,” said Nadal, who will now have a “very important” two full days of rest before taking the court again on Friday. “For me it’s amazing, honestly, to be in the semifinals.”
The Spaniard, who is gunning for a record 21st Grand Slam men’s singles title and now two wins away from a second Aussie Open men’s singles title (2009), survived an inspired comeback from the 14th seed and a troubled stomach to avoid the upset.
In the final set, Nadal crucially broke in the second game, either side of two dramatic service holds in which he saved a combined three break points across four deuces. Conserving his reserve energy for his service games, he saw the advantage home with an array of clutch deliveries to close out the match. “I was lucky that I was serving great in the fifth, said Nadal, who credited Shapovalov for his aggressive play. “He was serving huge, and especially the second serve.” The 35-year old was dominant early on Tuesday in Melbourne. Entering the match with just two breaks of serve against the fortnight, Nadal did not face a break point until the third set.
With temperatures as high as 32 degrees Celsius on the show court, his heavy ground game benefitted from bouncy conditions. He was at his best in medium-length rallies, amassing a 37 to 16 edge over the course of the match on exchanges of five to eight balls.
After winning an epic first-set tie-break against Adrian Mannarino in the fourth round, Nadal was clinical early on against Shapovalov. The Spaniard won his first five service games to 15, coupled with a break at love in the fourth game of the set. The break was given as much as it was earned, as Shapovalov followed a Nadal winner with three unforced forehand errors.
However, the Canadian started to find traction on his serve after the early wobble, cashing in on free points to string together easy holds and assert himself in the match in set two. Defending with more success and dragging Nadal into longer rallies, Shapovalov threatened in three straight return games — including a combined four deuces — but still could not get to break point. Nadal left the court to change into a dry kit after the second set, as Shapovalov plotted to change the course of the match. With increased aggression, the Canadian finally made his breakthrough with Nadal serving to stay in the third. He fired a menacing backhand winner to seal the set after more attacking play forced two Nadal errors.
It was a signal of intent, as Shapovalov was firmly in the ascendancy from there. Nadal required treatment from the physio and took tablets for a stomach problem prior to the fifth, but returned to show his championship mettle with a vintage final-set performance. The 35-year-old will take on either seventh seed Matteo Berrettini or Frenchman Gael Monfils in the semifinals.
American Madison Keys made it to her fifth career Grand Slam semifinal, and her second at the Australian Open, shocking defending French Open champion and No.4 seed Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2. The 26-year-old Keys kept her cool in sweltering heat, cruising to victory over an opponent ranked almost 50 places higher in just an hour and 25 minutes. “I think I played a pretty solid match today,” Keys was quoted as saying by wtatennis.com post win. “Just so happy to be back in the semifinals here for the first time in a long time.
“I think the biggest key is just being able to reel it back in and then refocus very quickly and catching yourself. I think that’s the thing that I’ve been just really focusing on the most, is acknowledging when I’m either not playing the right way, getting ahead of myself, anything, just stopping it once it’s a point or two or a game, versus all of a sudden you look up and it’s been three or four games. “(I’m) really just trying to be a lot more measured and just playing within myself a little bit more, not necessarily trying to hit a winner on that ball, just constantly trying to set the point up to get to the net to try to finish it off on even the next ball. If it happens to be a winner, then it happens to be a winner,” added Keys.
Keys is now into her fifth Grand Slam semifinal of her career, and her first since the 2018 US Open. She matched her final-four result from the 2015 Australian Open, where she made her maiden major semifinal. Keys” best Grand Slam result to date is a runner-up showing to her good friend Sloane Stephens at the 2017 US Open.
Keys is now one win away from her second career Grand Slam final. She will have to beat the winner of the quarterfinal between world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty and fellow American Jessica Pegula, the No.21 seed. “No matter who I play, it’s obviously going to be two very different game plans, but that’s all I’m going to focus on and worry about that, not worry about the end of the match,” said Keys. “I’ll just stay very focused on point by point.”
Top-ranked Ash Barty moved into the semifinals with a 6-2, 6-0 win over No. 21 Jessica Pegula. The 2021 Wimbledon champion is aiming to become the first Australian woman to win the Australian Open since 1978.
She will next face 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Madison Keys for a place in the final. It’s Barty’s second trip to the semifinals at Melbourne Park — she lost to eventual champion Sofia Kenin in 2020.
She says “I’ve grown as a person. I’ve grown as a player. I feel like I’m a more complete player.” Keys is back in the last four for the second time after losing to Serena Williams in the semifinals in 2015. Barty saved the only break point she faced against Pegula and converted five of the nine chances she had to break serve.
Keys beat French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-2 in the opening match on Rod Laver Arena on Day 9.
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