Ruthless Rafa rips Greek star in 1 hr 46 min
MELBOURNE (AFP) – Rafael Nadal handed rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas a tennis lesson Thursday as he drubbed him 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 in the Australian Open semi-final.
Greek 14th seed Tsitsipas had enjoyed a fairytale run to his first Grand Slam last four, including a win over Roger Federer, but found Nadal in ruthless form as he won in 1hr 46min.
The Spanish second seed has not dropped his serve for an astonishing 63 straight games and has not lost a set on his way to the final, where he will face either Novak Djokovic or Lucas Pouille.
‘’It’s been a great match, a great tournament,’’ Nadal said after a breathtaking display of almost perfect tennis.
‘’I think I have played very well every day. After a lot of months without playing is probably this court, this crowd it gives me that unbelievable energy.’’
The 20-year-old Tsitsipas had been hailed as a new Greek god of tennis after
beating Federer, but his ascent to the summit of his personal Olympus was comprehensively halted by the colossus called Nadal.
Nadal’s win put him into his fifth Australian Open final and keeps him on course to become the first man to win all four Grand Slams twice in the Open era if he can add to his sole Melbourne Park crown in 2009.
Tsitsipas, in just his second Australian Open and seventh appearance at a Grand Slam, was looking to become the first Greek player – man or woman – to reach a final in a major.
‘’He has everything to become a multiGrand Slam champion,’’ Nadal said of the young Greek, who enjoyed a breakthrough 2018, winning the ATP Tour NextGen Finals.
Meanwhile, fourth seed Naomi Osaka outgunned Karolina Pliskova to set up a women’s final against Czech eighth seed Petra Kvitova.
The 21-year-old Japanese star overcame the seventh seed 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to reach a second straight Grand Slam decider after her breakthrough triumph over Serena Williams at last year’s US Open.
‘’I expected it, I expected a really hard battle,’’ Osaka said of Pliskova’s attempt to come back from a set and a break down.”