Spanish will face Italian Matteo Berrettini who in the other key also needed five sets to defeat Frenchman Gael Monfils.
The Spanish Rafael Nadal beat this Tuesday in five sets the young Canadian Denis Shapovalov and qualified for the semifinal of the Australian Open, in which he aspires to achieve the men’s record of 21 Grand Slam titles.
In his return to a major tournament after months of injury, Nadal beat the number 14 in the draw 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals, in 4 hours and 8 minutes on the court Rod Laver, and will face the Italian in the semifinals Matteo Berrettini (7th), who also needed five sets to beat the French Gael Monfils (20th), by 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6 and 6-2.
“It was very hard today. Honestly, I hadn’t trained for this.”, assured the Balearic from the Melbourne Park track.
“Denis was playing great. He’s very talented, very aggressive and he was serving tremendously. It’s amazing to be in the semi-finals,” he added.
The Spaniard started the match in dominance, breaking Shapovalov early, and winning the first set in 39 minutes.
Although it cost him more work, the round seemed resolved when he took the second set after another hour to the desperation of Shapovalov, executioner in the previous round of Olympic champion Alexander Zverev, who complained several times to the referee about the long time spent by Nadal between serves.
Shapovalov’s anger
In a remote discussion with the referee, Shapovalov even described him as “corrupt” to say nothing to Nadal for overcoming the time between points.
The Mallorcan, who had the service, then approached the net to ask his rival what he did not agree with. After a brief explanation, the game was resumed, without major changes.
But then, stomach problems of the Spaniard and his inaccuracy in the serve –11 double faults in the match– gave life to the Canadian who, left-handed like Nadal, began to chain winners to take the next two sets.
After a visit to the locker room before the final set to resolve his physical problems, Nadal regained the rhythm of the game and, despite suffering against the combative Canadian player, placed himself with a 3-0 lead that would already be insurmountable for his rival.
“I started not feeling well in my stomach. They checked if everything was okay. I took some pills to try to improve my stomach, ”said the Balearic.
Nadal, who just two months ago did not even know if he could be in Melbourne, is just two wins away from obtaining the record of 21 Grand Slams and breaking the triple tie with the Swiss Roger Federer and the Serbian Novak Djokovic.
This year, the organizers decided that the two men’s semifinals will be played on Friday – before those who had qualified on Tuesday faced each other on Thursday. That gives Nadal two days instead of one to rest and prepare for the next match.
“Two days are very important, I’m not 21 anymore!” He smiled. (D)
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