Nadal quells Shapovalov's
Nadal quells Shapovalov's revolt in a marathon match After a long match that extended to five sets (6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6), Spain's Rafael Nadal, the sixth favorite for the title, beat his Canadian opponent, Denis Shapovalov, the 14th favorite, in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. and 6-3), and lasted for four hours and eight minutes
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Although he excelled remarkably at the beginning of the match to win the first two sets, the former first-ranked Spaniard declined in the third set, which Shapovalov won, to revive his hopes of returning to the match.
During the fourth set, Nadal seemed to be clearly affected and suffering from abdominal problems. He called the doctor to try to maintain his performance, but he lost again against the Canadian to postpone the decision to a fifth set.
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In the last set, Nadal broke Shapovalov's serve early to advance 2-0, then the Canadian almost broke back in the third game, but for the success of the Spaniard to renew his 3-0 lead.
Nadal maintained his advantage in this game until 5-3 before serving comfortably in the ninth game.
Nadal will face the winner of the match between Italy's Matteo Berrettini (7) and France's Gael Monfils (17).
The 35-year-old Spaniard is aiming to win the Australian Open for the second time in his career after winning it in 2009, as well as set a new Grand Slam record by defeating the Serbian duo of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.