Retro Rafa rolls back the years
THE distinctly retro feel to the Australian Open continues unabated, with Rafael Nadal through to the quarter-finals along with other members of the cast who might be classed as golden oldies.
Nadal is through to his first Grand Slam quarter-final since the 2015 French Open and now faces a major battle against Canadian powerhouse Milos Raonic.
With 35-year-old Roger Federer playing this morning against Andy Murray’s conqueror Mischa Zverev, there is a flashback feel to this tournament.
Both Williams sisters, aged 35 and 36, made it through to the quarter-finals, while 34-year-old Mirjana Lucic-Baroni yesterday reached her first last-eight berth since Wimbledon 1999.
Nadal, 30, managed to see off France’s Gael Monfils, although he needed to come back from 4-2 down in the fourth set. Some of his forehands exploded off the court as in the days when he was expected to make the final here.
‘After a couple of years without being there it is very special for me, especially here in Australia which feels a little like home,’ said Nadal.
‘Raonic beat me two weeks ago in Brisbane. He’s a top player with an amazing serve. I need to wait and play aggressive to have a chance.’
Raonic, who says he has been suffering from flu, beat Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut in four sets.
While the prospect of a Nadal versus Federer final — which would be their first at a major tournament since 2011 in Paris — would have people salivating, the more significant long-term development would be if Grigor Dimitrov made his long-awaited breakthrough this week.
Dimitrov has long been regarded as the underperforming pin-up boy of the ATP Tour but now finds himself in the last eight against Belgium’s David Goffin, who is playing at a career-high world ranking of No 11.
Bulgarian Dimitrov, coached these days by Andy Murray’s former assistant Dani Vallverdu, snuffed out Novak Djokovic’s conqueror Denis Istomin 2-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-1, although the Uzbek needed treatment on his back after the second set.
For so long Dimitrov has been seen as having the potential to win a major were it not for his playboy tendencies, and now he looks to have applied to fulfil his copious natural talent.
Lucic-Baroni added to the sense of this being a tournament for the oldies when she reached her first quarter-final since taking on Steffi Graf at the All England Club before the turn of the millennium.
She barely played between 2003 and 2010 after emigrating to the United States from her native Croatia due to a series of family and financial problems.
Lucic-Baroni beat surprise package Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-2 and will now play the highly fancied Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.