Melbourne Jan. 28 (BUS): Rafael Nadal has now claimed one record-breaking 21st Grand Slam singles title, according to the Associated Press.
The 35-year-old Spaniard advanced to the Australian Open final for the sixth time with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Matteo Berrettini on Friday.
He arrived in Australia not knowing how long it would take months after the tour to recover from injuries and then a bout of COVID-19.
He won a championship title and has now won six matches in his first Grand Slam of the year.
Once again, he will break the record of 20 combined majors with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. He would also become the fourth man in history to win at least two Grand Slam titles.
In Sunday’s tournament match, he will play the semi-final winner later between US Open champion Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Nadal’s victory over Berrettini, under a closed roof at Rod Laver Arena due to torrential local rain, was his 500th victory on a tour-level hard court. He has won the title at the Australian Open only once, in 2009.
Adding a second was his only focus after another semi-final win. “For me, it’s all about the Australian Open more than anything,” he said in his on-court television interview. “I’ve been a little lucky (here) in my career with some injuries. I’ve played some great finals with good chances.
“I feel very lucky to have won once. I never thought there would be another chance in 2022.”
Nadal broke the opening service match for seventh seed Berrettini in the first two sets, and after losing the third set, he rushed to finish the match in under three hours. That in itself was a relief after his long-running five-set win over Denis Shapovalov two days earlier in the quarter-finals.
Nadal was the only member of the so-called Big Three who had the chance to break the deadlock in Australia this time around. Federer missed the tournament to continue his recovery from knee surgery.
Djokovic, who won nine of his Grand Slam titles in Australia, was deported on the eve of the tournament for failing to meet the country’s stringent COVID-19 vaccination standards.
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