Follow Spaniard Rafael Nadal; ranked fifth in the world, his wonderful career in the “Australian Open”; The first of the four major tennis tournaments, by reaching the quarter-finals, while Canadian Denis Shapovalov triggered a heavy-caliber surprise by eliminating Germany’s Alexander Zverev; The third and one of the most prominent candidates for the title, from the final price.
Nadal managed to withstand the resistance of French Adrian Mannarino in the first set, where he was forced to draw 6-6 and a marathon tie-break that the Spanish Matador won 16-14 in 28 minutes, and thus the set 7-6 in 81 minutes, before winning the second and third sets very easily and with a result one 6 – 2.
Nadal said; The 35-year-old: “I was a bit lucky at the end of the tiebreak. I had my chances, but following that I had a lot of chances too.”
The Spaniard, who is seeking a record 21st Grand Slam title, added: “The crazy first set was very important, and he broke the serve at the beginning of the second set as well. Mannarino has been putting in great performances throughout the tournament. His quick and flat shots are very difficult to control. I am very happy that I survived that.”
And Nadal hit a quarter-final meeting with the 14th, 22-year-old Shapovalov, who deviated from expectations and deprived the fans of a fiery summit between the Spanish matador and German promising Zverev.
According to the tournament’s draw, Nadal was theoretically supposed to meet Zverev in the quarter-finals, then Novak Djokovic, the world’s first in the semi-finals, but the Serbian’s deportation from the tournament due to his failure to receive the anti-Coronavirus vaccine, excluded the title holder and record number of titles in Championship (9 times) than competition.
Nadal commented on facing Shapovalov, saying: “He is one of the players with great qualifications. He has a lot of amazing things in games, and his results say that. When he plays well, it is very difficult to stop him.” Shapovalov, runner-up at Wimbledon last year, inflicted a heavy loss on 23-year-old Zverev 6-3 7-6 6-3. “It is always good to finish matches in three sets, but I must admit that this was the match that did not I expect to finish it in 3 sets.
On the other hand, Zverev said: “I came (to Australia) with the aim of winning the championship and becoming the world’s number one. But if I play like this, I don’t deserve it. It is that simple.”
“After a match like this, I think it’s crazy to talk regarding leading the world rankings. I have to get back in shape first… It’s my fault, not the coach’s, my team’s or anyone’s fault. As a third in the world, I have to take responsibility for the things I do and the things I don’t do. What I did in this match was not good enough to get past someone like Dennis.”
France’s Gael Monfils reached the same round, defeating Serbian Miomir Kichmanovic 7-5, 7-6, 6-3.
Among the women, Australian world number one Ashleigh Barty stopped the adventure of promising American Amanda Anisimova by defeating her 6-4, 6-3 to book the quarter-final ticket. The 20-year-old Anisimova triggered a resounding surprise Friday by stripping Japan’s Naomi Osaka of the title when she beat her 6-4, 3-6, 7-6. Barty continued her strong start to this year by achieving her eighth win in a row, an extension of the “Adelaide Tournament” that crowned her title on the eve of The start of the “Australian Championship”, whose title has so far been elusive for the first seed, who won the Roland Garros titles in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021, while the best result in her country’s championship remains reaching the semi-finals in 2020. This is Barty’s second victory over Anisimova following The Roland Garros tournament in 2019 when the Australian beat her young competitor in the semi-finals on her way to winning her first major title before following it with a second last year at Wimbledon.
“She has an exceptional playing style that puts you under pressure right from the start, and I’m glad I held on and managed to win trades so often,” Barty said. Especially on the important points.
And Barty set up a meeting in the next round with the other American Jessica Pegula, twenty-first, who defeated the Greek Maria Sakkari, the fifth 7-6, 6-3.
The Czech Barbora Krajicekova was booked; The fourth crowned winner of the last edition of the French “Roland Garros” championship, her ticket to the quarter-finals, by defeating Belarusian Victoria Azarenka twenty-fourth, 6-2, 6-2.
Kraichikova will meet American Madison Keys, who beat Spain’s Paula Padusa, eighth, 6-3, 6-1.
