Covid is beaten – now for ace Nadal

DENIS Shapovalov feared his Australian Open campaign could be ruined after contracting Covid but now the Canadian has his sights on taking down a second top 10 seed – and one the game’s greats – in his quarter-final showdown with Rafael Nadal.

Shapovalov had doubts he would make it through the lead-up events and to the opening round at Melbourne Park when, after arriving in Australia, he tested positive for Covid-19. But he has achieved his best result at the Australian Open, eliminating No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev in the fourth round to set up Tuesday’s alllefty battle with 20-time major winner Nadal.

“There was a lot of doubts once I got to Australia with the quarantine, having gotten Covid, not sure how I would take it, not sure I would be able to play ATP Cup,” Shapovalov said. “Obviously very happy with the way I’m feeling. Coming out of quarantine, playing ATP Cup, had a little bit of doubts, wasn’t ready to kind of play the first match and kind of worked my way through the tournament and started to feel back to normal towards the end of that week.

“And then coming here, I had a couple of aches and wasn’t feeling 100 per cent physically. So (I) wasn’t practising that much to be honest and just trying to prepare the body as best as possible.

“(I’m) just really happy with where I am in terms of my game, in terms of the level right now. Obviously every day is different. But, you know, I feel like with every match I have gained a little bit of confidence and a little bit of comfort playing on these courts.”

And if Nadal’s 81-minute epic in his fourth-round win over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino wasn’t long enough, Shapovalov – the No. 14 seed – has predicted a drawn-out battle for a semi-final berth.

“I’m definitely expecting a long battle out there,” Shapovalov said.