Rafael Nadal and the adjectives grit and determination are almost synonymous, at least on a tennis court. The 20- time grand slam winning champion showed the world, one more time, why he is the superstar he is. After a gruelling 5-set match against Denis Shapovalov, he won the encounter 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 in the Rod Laver Arena.

Rafael Nadal stops history from repeating

Nadal played with focus and aggression in the first two sets, creating opportunities and clinching the important points to set up a comfortable 2 set lead over the Canadian. Throughout the first two sets, Nadal created a lot of opportunities for his forehand and dominated with it.

While the Canadian faltered with his slices and at the net initially, he soon found his rhythm. He engaged in some very capable and sound shot-making, forcing Nadal to give away the break at 2-1, with a break fault.

Nadal’s stomach seemed to be troubling him, and he was visited by the physio on the court and given medicines. But that did not deter the Canadian’s momentum who grabbed the second set, forcing the match to the fifth and deciding set.

It was at this stage that Nadal got knocked out from last year’s Australian Open. After the fourth set, it seemed like history was about to repeat itself. In 2021, Nadal lost to Tsitsipas after being two sets up. But Nadal back from an intermission and a medical timeout refocussed to break early in the fifth set.

He forced Shapovalov to make mistakes and the Canadian’s fifth set unforced errors tally was 13 to Nadal’s 5, ultimately winning the final set at the quarterfinals at the Australian Open 2022.

To be able to play is a ‘present’ for Rafa

In the courtside interview after the match, Nadal was asked how he turned the match around. “I don’t know, honestly,” he said.

“I was completely destroyed after that. Very tough day, very warm. Honestly, I didn’t practise for this. I was a little lucky at the beginning of the fifth. At the beginning of the match I was playing great, then I know how difficult it is to play against a player like Denis. He’s very talented, very aggressive. He was serving huge, especially the second serve,” he added, acknowledging how well Shapovalov had been playing.

During the pre-season, as well as during all the pre-tournament press conferences, Nadal has been saying that he was not expecting great results from his tournament. He also said that this was mostly to figure out how well he was playing, given that he was coming back from a major injury.

He also indicated that to be able to compete at yet another semifinal at Melbourne park was really special for him. “Two months ago we didn’t know if we would be able to be back on tour, at all,” he said. “So, here I am. For me, it is a present of life that I am playing tennis again.” Hopefully, he can extend the dream run a little longer.

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