Tsitsipas rallies from two sets down to shock Nadal at AO
STEFANOS Tsitsipas came from two sets down to shock erratic world number two Rafael Nadal in the men’s singles quarter-finals at the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Fifth seed Tsitsipas fired 17 aces as he fought back for a 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 7-5 triumph in 4 hours 5 minutes shortly before midnight.
He now meets fourth seed Daniil Medvedev who extended his winning streak to 19 matches after topping a Russian duel against Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.
Fifth seed Tsitsipas raised his game after being overwhelmed in the first two sets by Nadal who was chasing a record 21st title at the majors and hadn’t dropped a set at the tournament until then.
The Greek took the third set in a tiebreak as Nadal started to make mistakes, levelled the sets after his first break of the match.
He broke Nadal at love after four unforced errors in a row from the Spaniard to go 6-5 up in the decider and then, after saving a break point, wrapped up matters on third match point with a backhand winner.
“I don’t know what happened after the third set. I was flying like a little bird and everything was working for me. The emotions at the end are indescribable,” Tsitsipas said.
“I am speechless. No words can describe what happened out on court, my tennis speaks for itself. It is an unbelievable feeling to be able to fight at such a level and leave my all out on the court.
While veteran Nadal went
out in the quarters like last year after hitting 32 of his 42 unforced errors in sets 3-5, the 22-year-old Tsitsipas now faces another big test against the ATP Finals and ATP Cup winner Medvedev, with both in their third semi at the majors.
Medvedev took just over two hours to dispose of his ATP Cup team-mate Rublev in
a match marked by some long rallies, including one lasting 43 shots in the second set.
“That was definitely one of the best matches I played lately, not only here but even last year. This match is really unbelievable because he was playing really good, I managed to beat him in three sets even without a tiebreak,” Medvedev said.