Nadal rallies to top Zverev in five sets

MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal had a good, hard look at the future before pulling a few tricks from his past to hold it back — for now.

The 14-time Grand Slam winner, still recovering from a couple of months off with an injured left wrist, rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2 win over German Alexander Zverev, 19, on Saturday to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.

The 30-year-old Spaniard finished stronger in the 4hour, 6-minute match on Rod Laver Arena as Zverev, widely touted as a Grand Slam champion of the future, tightened up with cramping and nerves.

“I enjoyed a lot this great battle,” said the ninth-seeded Nadal, who had lost eight of the previous nine times he’d trailed 2-1 in a best-of-fivesets match. “I was losing the last couple of times in the fifth set and I said to myself, ‘Today’s the day.’ ’’

Nadal attributed his superior finish to the experience of 236 previous matches in the majors.

“Well, fighting — and running a lot,” Nadal said, when asked to explain how he pulled off the win. “Everybody knows how good Alexander is. He’s the future of our sport and the present, too.”

It was Zverev’s 15th Grand Slam match, but he had been on a three-match winning streak against top-10 players.

Nadal finished with 43 winners and 34 unforced errors, while Zverev — hitting harder, using a wider array of shots and going for the lines — had 58 winners and 74 unforced errors.

Grigor Dimitrov and Richard Gasquet didn’t start their third-round match until 11:58 p.m. local time, most likely the latest start for a match at the Australian Open.

After grinding through four games in 24 minutes, No. 15 Dimitrov picked up the pace and finished Gasquet 6-3, 56-2, 6-4 at 2 a.m.

In women’s play, No. 2seeded Serena Williams advanced to the fourth round with a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Nicole Gibbs. U.S. Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova rallied from 5-1 down in the third set to beat Jelena Ostapenko 4-6, 6-0, 10-8.