Rafa will try this Sunday to win his 21st Grand Slam title, considered a record, in the final against Russian Daniil Medvedev.
Rafael Nadal has known how to take advantage of the absence in his half of the box Novak Djokovic to reach the Australian Open Final, where he will try on Sunday to conquer his 21st title of Grand Slam, a record, against the Russian Daniil Medvedev.
“I only think about the Australian Open,” said the 35-year-old Spaniard, who could become the only record holder of titles on Sunday in Big, with one more than Roger Federer Y Novak Djokovic.
To reach his sixth final in Melbourne, Nadal bent the colossus Italian Matteo Berrettini (7th) 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 this Friday in 2 hours and 55 minutes.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be my last chance or not. A short time ago it seemed that there would be no other opportunity and now we are here. Honestly, I don’t know what’s at stake. Not even winning on Sunday would mean that I am the best in history“, Nadal relativized, who will play his twenty-ninth final in a Grand Slam, two less than the record held by Federer and Djokovic.
The Spaniard jumped overwhelmingly onto the Rod Laver track, with the cover deployed in the face of the intense storm that fell in Melbourne.
The degenerative injury to his left foot has forced the Balearic Islands to change their style of play, strengthening the service and looking for faster points. The performance so far has been unquestionable.
A ‘Grande’ solo in Melbourne
During the first two sets, Nadal repeatedly hit Berrettini’s backhand with his left hand and counteracted his serve and his forehand competently.
In less than an hour and a half he was already two sets ahead and had broken serve three times against his desperate rival, a finalist in Melbourne last year.
But in the third set came the reaction of the Italian, who took advantage of a moment of greater inaccuracy in Nadal’s serve to break his service and force a fourth set.
Nadal committed 7 unforced errors in the third set, half of the 14 made in the first three sleeves.
Although it was a much more even final set than the first two, the Spaniard was more successful in the decisive points and took advantage of the first match point to secure a place in the final.
In terms of games won Open de Australia it is his second best Grand Slam (after Roland Garros), but the one that trails behind in terms of number of titles.
He won it only in 2009, while Djokovic has won all 9 finals he has played.
If the tennis player from Manacor wins the title on Sunday, he will become the second player in the Open era, fourth in history, to win at least twice each of the four Grand Slams, a mark achieved by Djokovic on last year by winning Roland Garros for the second time.
Medvedev exalted
But for this he will have to overcome the obstacle Medvedev.
The No. 2 in the world, eliminated the griego Stefanos Tsitsipas (4th) 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 at the end of an intense and spectacular match.
“I am going to play again against one of the greatest players and again against a player who is going to try to win his 21st Grand Slam”, recalled the Russian, referring to his final victory in the last US Open against Novak Djokovic. On that occasion he deprived the Serbian of a 21st Great but also of the feat of conquering the four Grand Slams of the year, after the Australian Open, Roland Garros Y Wimbledon.
The 25-year-old Russian, a finalist last year in Melbourne and winner of the last US Open, may become the first tennis player in the Open era (since 1968) to consecutively win his first two Grand Slam titles.
This Friday Medvedev dominated Tsitsipas in a tense game and not without controversy. To the point that the Russian verbally attacked the referee in a change of sides.
In any case, the Russian was not distracted and closed the match in two and a half hours, more or less two hours less than what it took to defeat Felix Auger-Aliassime (9th) in five-set quarters on Wednesday.
Of all the active players, the Russian is only the 5th to be able to boast of having reached the final in Melbourne at least twice, after Djokovic (9, all won), Federer (7 for 6 titles), Nadal (6 for 1 title) and Murray (5 finals, zero titles).
In total, it will be his 4th Grand Slam final: won the title at the 2021 US Open, but was outclassed at the 2019 US Open, against Nadal, and fell last year in Melbourne.
Whatever happens in the final on Sunday, the Russian will continue to be No. 2 in the world. (D)
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