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MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal’s bid for a 21st Grand Slam record came to a halt on Wednesday at the Australian Open when Stefanos Tsitsipas rose to defeat the Spaniard 3-6 2-6 7-6 (4) 6- 4 7-5 and reach the semifinals.
World number two Nadal had not lost a single set before the night’s clash at Rod Laver Arena and was secured in the last four at Melbourne Park after taking a two-set lead over the listless Greek.
The match turned upside down when Nadal faltered in a messy third-set tiebreak, and a rejuvenated Tsitsipas bounced back brilliantly to take the match to a decider.
Capturing Nadal’s serve at 5-5 in the fifth, Tsitsipas saw two match points slip through his toes on serve, but kept his head and fired a brilliant backhand winner down the line in the third to claim one of the best. career wins.
“Of course (I am) sad. I lost a match in the quarterfinals of an event that means a lot to me,” Nadal told reporters.
“I did the best I could in every moment … I think I stayed positive all the time during the game, fighting, and it was not enough. Sometimes it is enough, today it was not enough.”
Fifth seed Tsitsipas booked his second Australian Open semi-final and will meet Russian giant Daniil Medvedev for a place in the decider.
“I fly like a bird and everything was working for me,” said the 22-year-old with the shaggy hair.
“I have no words to describe what just happened on the court. My tennis speaks for itself. It is an incredible feeling to be able to fight at that level, just to be able to leave everything on the court.
“I started out very nervous but I don’t know what happened after the third set.”
Tsitsipas took revenge for his heartbreaking straight-sets loss to Nadal in the 2019 semifinals, when he was shocked by the Spaniard’s complete dominance.
Yet in all but three sets, Nadal seemed willing to reopen those old wounds.
Tsitsipas slept and walked through the match before she sank on serve in the third set.
Visibly perked up after battling for a 5-4 lead, but Nadal remained impenetrable on serve.
The Spaniard had to open the door with a pair of failed overhead shots, the second floating from the baseline to give Tsitsipas a 5-3 lead in the tiebreaker.
Revitalized, the Greek knocked Nadal’s backhand into submission and rushed to volley on an open court to increase three set points.
Nadal canceled one of them with his own net run, but finally relented after a skirmish on the baseline and retired to his chair fuming.
Tsitsipas transformed and soon had Nadal desperately clinging to service.
Nadal defended himself against break points at 0-0 and 2-2, but ultimately failed at 4-4 in the fourth set before gifting it to the Greek with a series of unforced errors.
The fifth followed the same formula, only with Nadal collapsing on serve at 5-5 after a wild forehand on the trolley lines.
The stadium was empty save for a few coaches, umpires and ball players, but the tension reached a boiling point when Tsitsipas charged a forehand at match point.
Nadal launched a fierce forehand return to cancel a second match point, but the Spaniard’s volley disappointed him again as he pounced to hit the net directly.
Tsitsipas was right on his third chance to seal it, landing a winning backhand that left Nadal’s record in shambles.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Jon Boyle and Christian Radnedge)
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