Drops of sweat brushed across Nadal's face.
Following 22-year-old Dennis Shapovalov, 35-year-old Rafael Nadal walked into the Rod Laver Stadium. They warm up, pick the edges, and then run to their respective bottom lines...
This is the Australian Open quarterfinals on the 25th, when the players appeared, two TV commentators in the international signal constantly emphasized the age difference of the players. Feeling that the direct report was not intuitive enough, one of them used a trick: "You know what? Shapovalov was born in April 1999 and nadal turned professional less than two years later. ”
Then they laughed together, which was indeed the most intuitive contrast.
Despite the sweltering heat and physical discomfort, Nadal reached the final four.
However, the first person to enter the state of this game is the older one. Nadal secured his serve in the first two sets, not giving his opponent a single break point, and then seized the opportunity at a crucial moment to go down 6-3, 6-4.
At this year's Australian Open, returning to Melbourne Park with the winner of the Summer Series, Nadal, as the No. 6 seed of the tournament, showed good form, losing to Karen Khachanov in the first four rounds and easily reaching the quarterfinals.
So, after two sets in hand, people seem to have seen that the goddess of victory has shown a smile to the Spaniards, as long as they resist the Canadians' counterattack in the third set, the 7th career breakthrough in the Australian Open final four seems to be a foregone conclusion.
But Nadal knows it won't be easy.
No. 14 seed Shapovalov, while young, has already beaten himself in the 2017 Rogers Cup. Coming to the fast hard ground of the Australian Open, facing the heat wave at Melbourne Park Stadium, the spaniard's physical strength began to light up under the strong attack of the 14th seed not long after the start of the third set.
His strength and crosshairs had problems, and his lateral and vertical displacements slowed down. Four double-serve turnovers, a 65% one-shot success rate, a 44% second-serve scoring rate, and a 33% pre-netting scoring rate; not being able to get any break points from the opponent and delivering four break points at the same time.
Young and motivated Shapovalov won the set 6-4, followed by a 6-3 win in the fourth set.
Nadal was chased in two sets by the young Greek Tsitsipas last season after winning two sets before finishing 2-3 in the quarterfinals. Moreover, this time he also developed symptoms of stomach discomfort in the fourth session.
The doctor came in to question and examine him, but after eating two pills, he said after the game that "it didn't really play a big role".
Young Shapovalov.
For Shapovalov, as long as he can get the next decider, he can continue to advance to the semi-finals and even the final with the confidence of defeating the role model players, as he did in Rome five years ago.
He did look to the Spaniards as an example. Before the start of this year's Australian Open, he said that he had learned a lot from the other side, such as the experience of left-handed clapping competitions and how to shape a strong heart.
The experience of the game requires constant practice, and the shaping of a strong heart does not happen overnight. Even Nadal, who debuted early, forged himself in the sand again and again, year after year, and finally became a "legend" standing in front of his descendants.
In fact, Melbourne is not what he calls a "blessed land", only one of his 20 Grand Slam titles is from the Australian Open, and only one of his 5 men's singles finals has been won. The last time he reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park was 3 years ago in the 2019 season.
At the start of the fifth set, the two sides returned to the balance of power again. The Canadians have a more physical advantage, while the Spanish veteran is clearly better at experience.
Nadal played a good serve and then managed to break. The 0-2 deficit left Shapovalov a bit confused, and he returned to the beginning of the game, making mistakes on key points, which also reduced The pressure on Nadal to some extent.
In the end, with the Canadian's return ball out of bounds, the No. 6 seed won the decider 6-3, ending the 4-hour and 08-point contest and reaching the Australian Open men's singles final four for the seventh time in his career.
All the spectators were boiling, they were moved by the veteran's persistence and indomitability, but what was even more touching was the live interview of Jim Correll after the game - Nadal said that two months ago, when he was still plagued by injuries, whether he could return to the field was unknown, and he and the team did not dare to expect to reach the final four of the Australian Open.
'Shapovalov is a very good, very talented young player, he has a strong serve, the second serve is also great, I know how challenging it is for me to play with a player like him."
'I had a little chance at the beginning of the third set, but I missed it, and then I felt a little tired and he put a lot of pressure on me again and I was really happy to finally be able to reach the semi-finals.' He first praised his young opponent and then said he was able to win the fifth set only because of "luck".
Of course, it's not just lucky, neither Correll nor anyone who has seen the game agrees with this statement. What really helped him win this battle, and what brought Nadal back from his "total destruction" state, was his heart that never gave up.
"I was completely devastated, (it was really) a very tough day, very hot." The 35-year-old Spanish laughs and admits that he is no longer 21 years old, and although he is in good physical condition, it is very happy that this year's Australian Open schedule will allow him to play in the semi-finals in two days, because it is another day compared to the past.
Nadal celebrates the victory.
Every day is important, every day is important – this is Nadal's philosophy of life, from the most practical point of view, to meet the challenges given by life and the venue.
The past 6 months have been a huge challenge for him. As Correll said, it was a very difficult time for Nadal – he first quit the US Open to end the season with a recurrence of an old injury to his left foot, then contracted the coronavirus last December, returned to Melbourne for the second week, and then had stomach problems during the game.
"It's like this... In fact, two months ago, my team and I had no idea if I would ever be able to get back on the field. Now that I stand here, it is the gift of life to me. I can also play and I enjoy moments like that. ”
"Rafael Nadal, a real treat!" Correll shouted his name, leaving time and space for the runner, who was no longer 21 years old, but could still spell out 167 km/h in the decider.
Source: The Paper