Rafael Nadal bounced back from the brink of defeat to edge out Denis Shapovalov in five sets at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
The Spaniard looked to be struggling physically in the searing heat and needed to take tablets for a stomach complaint after his Canadian opponent had recovered from two sets down to level the match.
Nadal came off court for a five-minute medical timeout after the set and, as he has done for much of his career, forced his way back into the match.
He shifted the momentum to just hold his opening service game of the deciding set and duly broke Shapovalov as the 22-year-old had a rare bad service game from which he never recovered in a 6-3 6-4 4-6 3-6 6-3 defeat.
It sealed a seventh semi-final berth in Melbourne for Nadal, who missed the latter part of last season with a foot injury and arrived in Australia with question marks about his ability to go the distance having also been struck down with Covid last month.
It also ensured that one of men’s tennis’ ‘Big Three’ has made the last four of 70 of the last 71 Grand Slams, the only exception being the US Open in 2020.
Asked how he’d recovered after the fourth set, Nadal said: “I don’t know honestly. I was completely destroyed after that. I started to not feel very well in my stomach. It was a great test. A very tough day. At the beginning of the match, I was playing great, I know how difficult it is to play against an athlete like Denis. He was serving huge. It’s amazing for me to be in the semi-finals. ”
Nadal now has two days to recover for his last-four encounter, which he welcomed saying: “I am not 21 anymore, but I believe I’m going to be ready for that semi-final.”
