Melbourne Jan. 23 (BUS): Rafael Nadal finally beat the crazy long tiebreak and knew he had won half the battle, according to the Associated Press.
After saving four set points and losing his first six on his own, Nadal finally clinched a tiebreak lasting 28 minutes 40 seconds to put himself on track to secure a place in the Australian Open quarter-finals for the 14th time.
With a 7-6(14) 6-2 6-2 win in the fourth round over fellow left-handed Adrian Mannarino on Sunday, Nadal is likely only three wins away from a Grand Slam men’s singles title.
Then he later thought about the tiebreak as the momentum swung wildly. Where chants “Let’s go Rafa, let’s go!” Ring; Where a point is set in a 25-shot rally where both players are scrambling for a full stretch; That only ended when Nadal hit a ball from deep in the field and Mannarino’s response was skewed.
Nadal next plays Denis Shapovalov, the 22-year-old Canadian who finished in a 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Olympic gold medalist Alexander Zverev at Margaret Court Arena less than an hour later to reach the The quarter-finals in Australia for the first time.
Shapovalov was forced into isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 when he arrived in Australia ahead of the first major tournament of the year, but has recovered quickly to help Canada win the ATP Cup in Sydney and has now reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the third time.
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