Tomorrow, the 2022 Australian Open will play the men's singles semifinals. The bottom half is played against two of the biggest seeded players, second seed Medvedev and fourth seed Tsitsipas, and in the bottom half, two second seeded players, six seed Nadal and seventh seed Berrettini. Compared with the competition between the two post-95 players in the second half of the district, the competition between the two players who are ten years apart in the upper half is undoubtedly more interesting! 20-time Grand Slam champion and Golden Slam player Nadal played against The First Post-90s Grand Slam Quarter-Finalist Berrettini. Hundreds of millions of fans are waiting, is it the spear of the new generation of Berrettini, or the shield of the old king Nadal?
In the 2022 Australian Open semi-finals, it was the second time in their careers that Berrettini and Nadal had met. In the 2019 US Open semi-finals, the two staged their first career meeting. Born in 1996 and 1.96 meters tall, Berrettini was still a rookie who reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time, so that he snatched a 6-4 lead in the first set and took the first two sets, and then suddenly lost power, but was won by Nadal with four consecutive points to win the seventh set. In the next two sets, Berrettini's competitive form deteriorated, 4:6, 1:6, surrendered, and paid for his youth and growth. Nevertheless, on October 28, 2019, Italian young coach Berrettini reached the top ten of the world ranking for the first time and became the winner of the ATP Player of the Year Award for The Most Improved Player of the Year.
Beretini is tall and physical, with strong serves and violent forehands that are his magic weapons for breaking the ATP Tour. He himself is therefore the favorite on the hard court and the most fond of forehand shots. For the backhand ball, Berrettini always seemed less confident, either pushing the past or cutting the transition. This has made Berrettini's backhand position a weakness for opponents' attacks, and has also become a roadblock for him to make greater progress and breakthroughs. In recent years, Berrettini's backhand shots still use more cutting, but his cutting techniques have improved a lot, with a strong downward rotation, bouncing very low after passing the net, even lower than the opponent's batting area, it is difficult for the opponent to attack, which largely makes up for the shortcomings of his backhand position, and since then he has a short and long strength with the top players in men's tennis.
In the 2021 French Open quarter-finals, Berrettini fought for 3 and a half hours with the final champion Tak Tak, and won the third set to grab seven, only to lose in four sets. In the 2021 Wimbledon final, Berrettini fought against Xiaode, and won the first set to win seven, regrettably losing three sets in a row, and passing by the first Grand Slam champion of his career. In the 2021 US Open quarterfinals, Berrettini challenged Xiaode in three consecutive Grand Slam matches, and won one set 7:5 before losing three sets. Now at the 2022 Australian Open, Berrettini reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time in his career and challenged Nadal for the second time. At this point, Berrettini became the first player in the post-90s to reach the quarter-finals of all four Grand Slam events, laughing at Tim, Medvedev, Zverev Jr., Tsitsipas and others, showing a very comprehensive combat ability, and having a strong competitiveness on hard ground, red clay, grass and other fields.
In an interview with the stadium after five sets and 229 minutes in the 2022 Australian Open quarterfinals and knocking out France's cool black Monfils, Berrettini frankly said that the semi-finals will face the windy and experienced Nadal, which is very difficult! I hope that I can learn the lesson of the 2019 US Open semi-final defeat and strive for a different result. We all went through five sets to reach the semi-finals, but I'm ten years younger than him after all, and I hope my body can recover faster and better.
The new generation of Berrettini, with a strong serve and violent forehand, as well as a more mature backhand cutting, once again challenged the old ball king Nadal. Nadal, a ten-year-old veteran who has always been known for his defensive counterattack, are you ready?
The 2022 Australian Open quarter-final with Canadian genius Shapovalov took 247 minutes in five sets, almost crushing the 13-year-old Spanish king Nadal! After two consecutive sets of 6:3 and 6:4, Nadal was exhausted in the third set and was pulled back by Shapovalov at 6:4. In the fourth set, Nadal suffered from abdominal pain again, and he could not do anything to call the defender into the field, but he had no choice but to lose another set 3:6. Before the decisive set, Nadal entered the lounge, and after a quick examination by the medical team, there were no injuries, everything was normal, just stomach pain. In order to alleviate the stomach discomfort caused by the hot weather of 32 ° C, Nadal took painkiller tablets, but in fact, there was not much effect. Physically exhausted, suffering from stomach pains and extraordinary willpower, Nadal played in the decider. At 6:3, Nadal, the king of Spain, defeated the Canadian genius Shapovalov. Shapovalov admired Nadal after the game, acknowledging what a tough rival the 35-year-old Was, believing he had done well in the decider, putting a lot of pressure on himself, serving very well and being aggressive in attack. Hewitt, a retired Australian tennis pride, said: In my opinion, Nadal is the greatest player in the history of tennis. Australian tennis doubles legend Wood Bridge said: In terms of willpower, Nadal is really incredible.
Nadal, who had crossed the line in five sets and reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open again after three years, said in an interview at the stadium that it was a very difficult day, I was almost destroyed and about to collapse. Fortunately, the decisive set started with good luck, not only to save the break point after saving the serve, but also to reverse the success immediately, it was a good serve that helped me win the decisive set. Nadal said happily, I'm not 21 years old, so it's great to have two days to rest after today's tough game. I believe that being able to prepare for the semi-finals and play one more game means everything.
Tomorrow in the 2022 Australian Open semi-finals, the spear of the new generation Oferetini is ready, and the old king Nadal's shield is also ready. I wait for the fans, wait with bated breath, and look at the sharp spear and the shield, who wins and who loses? (Source: Tennis House Author: Colorful Bean Powder)