Nadal survives epic tie-break
Melbourne, Jan. 23: Rafael Nadal survived an epic 28-minute tiebreak to seal his spot in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and top seed Ashleigh Barty joined him with victory over giantkiller Amanda Anisimova on Sunday.
Nadal will now face Canada’s 14th seed Denis Shapovalov after he stunned third seed and Olympic champion Alexander Zverev — who said “everything” went wrong.
Nadal, who is chasing a men’s record 21st Grand Slam title, was pushed all the way by Adrian Mannarino in an 81minute first set before breaking the Frenchman’s resolve in a 7-6 (16/14), 6-2,
6-2 victory. “First set was very emotional,” said Nadal after emerging victorious from a marathon first-set tiebreak.
The Spaniard, who dropped a set for the first time in the tournament before powering past Russia’s Karen Khachanov in the previous round, will now face Shapovalov in the last eight.
The 22-year-old Shapovalov — who caught Covid before the Slam and was not even sure he would play in Melbourne — left Zverev still searching for a first major title after convincingly beating him 6-3,
7-6 (7-5), 6-3.
In the women’s draw, home hope and world number one Barty thrilled the crowd by defeating 60thranked Anisimova 6-4, 6-3. The Australian faces another American, Jessica Pegula, in the last eight encounter.
Also into the last eight is French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, who looks in ominous touch.
She blew away former two-time Melbourne champion Victoria Azarenka, who had a neck problem, to set up a meeting with unseeded American Madison Keys.