Rafael Nadal is one victory away from becoming the greatest male Grand Slam tennis champion.
The sixth-seeded Spaniard beat seventh-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Australian Open on Friday (Australia time) in Melbourne.
If Nadal can get past either second-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia or fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the final, he would capture his record 21st major title. Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic currently share the mark with 20 apiece.
Nadal is headed to his sixth Australian Open final and is seeking his second championship in the event. He insisted that his focus is on the upcoming match, not on his largest place in the sport’s history.
“For me, it’s all about the Australian Open more than anything else,” he said in his on-court interview after beating Berrettini. “It’s just an amazing event. … I have been a little bit unlucky during my career (here) with some injuries, and at times I played amazing finals with good chances against Novak in 2012, against Roger in 2017 (both five-set defeats).
“I was close a couple times. I feel very lucky that I won once (here) in my career, 2009. But I never thought about another chance in 2022.”
To get that opportunity, he had to hold off Berrettini, who got back into the match despite Nadal’s hot start.
“I started the match playing great,” Nadal said. “The first two sets had been the best (in) a long time. Then I know how good Matteo is. He is a very solid player, very dangerous. …
“(After losing the third set), we need to suffer, we need to fight in the fourth (set) again. That’s the only way to be where I am today. Honestly, it means a lot to me to be in the final again here.”
If Nadal prevails on Sunday, he would join Djokovic, Roy Emerson and Rod Laver as the only male players to win each of the majors at least twice.
–Field Level Media