Nadal, Medvedev storm into semi-finals of Australian Open

Rafael Nadal’s quest for a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam continues after the Spaniard displayed plenty of his trademark grit and determination to beat Denis Shapovalov in five sets in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. Following a marathon encounter lasting four hours and seven minutes on Rod Laver Arena, the world number six finally overcame the young Canadian 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 to reach his seventh Australian Open semi-final. 

Nadal outplayed a nervy Shapovalov in the opening exchanges and quickly raced to a two-set lead. However, the conditions began to take their toll on the 35-year-old’s body in the third set as Nadal struggled with his service in the Melbourne heat, allowing the young Canadian to pull one back. The Spaniard also had some stomach troubles as the match wore on and gave away the decisive break in the fourth game of the fourth set with a double fault, sending the game to a decider.

However, the 20-time Grand Slam champion showcased his true fight and mentality in the fifth, taking advantage of some sloppy errors from Shapovalov at 1-0 to find the break. Although Nadal was evidently strained physically, the world number six managed to hold his serve throughout the final set and save three break points to set up a semi-final tie with the number seven seed Matteo Berrettini.

Medvedev saves match point to overcome Felix Auger-Alliasime

On the other side of the draw, the top seed Daniil Medvedev was involved in another thriller in the quarter-finals, coming back from two sets down to beat the world number nine Felix Auger-Alliasame in a four hour forty-two-minute epic in Melbourne.

The Russian looked down and out throughout the opening two sets of the quarter-final, but the US Open Champion rallied from the brink of defeat to book his place in the final four with a 6-7(4), 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5, 6-4 victory.

Medvedev struggled with his serve throughout the first two sets under the lights at Rod Laver Arena as the 21-year-old Canadian dominated with his heavy groundstrokes, taking the first set via a tie-break before not even facing a single break-point in the second set.

However, Medvedev gradually grew into the contest in the third set and switched gears following a momentary pause caused by rain and the closing of the roof, winning the tie-break upon the resumption of play before saving a match point in the fourth with his biggest serve of the night.

In the fifth set, Medvedev showcased his championship mentality, saving six break points to close out the game and set up a rematch of last year’s Australian Open Semi-Final against the fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday.