Once the breath of fresh air in a predictable ATP World Tour, we may be getting to a scenario at the semi final stage where Stan…
BBC Sport charts the return to form of 34-year-old Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who is into the last four of the Australian Open 18 years after her last Grand Slam semi-final appearance.
Hard work pays off for Spaniard, into first major SF in three years
What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, Rafael Nadal was digesting a shock five-set loss to Fernando Verdasco in the first round of the Australian Open. Today, after a sublime performance that saw him dismiss World No. 3 Milos Raonic in straight sets, Nadal is through to his first Grand Slam semi-final since winning Roland Garros in 2014.
It’s been a challenging couple of years for Nadal, whose health and injury struggles contributed to a lack of confidence on the court and on the big stages. He came into the 2017 Australian Open having brought his 2016 campaign to a premature end, following a first-round loss to Viktor Troicki at the Shanghai Rolex Masters in October.
Much hard work has taken place since then and the Mallorcan is reaping the rewards, having earned his place in the final four at Melbourne Park after victories over Alexander Zverev, Gael Monfils and Raonic.
“It’s good news, especially winning against difficult players: Monfils quarter-finals, Zverev round of 16, and now Raonic,” said Nadal. “I think all of them are top players. So that’s very important for me because that means that I am competitive and playing well.
“I’m just excited about being back in the final rounds of the most important events,” continued the left-hander, who is trying to win his 15th major title. “I am here to try to make this. It’s always difficult, but I fought and I worked hard to try to make that happen.
“I’m very happy that after a lot of work I am in this round again. It’ a special thing for me, especially here in Australia. I have been playing and competing very well during the whole event. That’s very important for me.”
Nadal goes forward to a semi-final clash with Grigor Dimitrov, a clash he is certainly not taking lightly – “He’s a player that has an unbelievable talent, unbelievable potential. He started the season playing unbelievable. Is going to be a very tough match for me.” – but the question on many fans’ lips is: Will we see another Roger Federer – Rafael Nadal final?
The famous rivalry has not taken to the court since the 2015 Basel final, which Federer won in three sets, and not in a Grand Slam final since the 2011 Roland Garros championship match, which Nadal won in four sets. The pair contested the Australian Open final in 2009, with Nadal famously consoling a tearful Federer after prevailing in five sets.
Federer is set to face countryman Stan Wawrinka on Thursday after blasting his way through the top half of the draw, taking out Tomas Berdych, Kei Nishikori and Andy Murray’s conqueror, Mischa Zverev, to return to the semi-finals at Melbourne Park, where he is a four-time former champion. And no one is more pleased than Nadal to see his long-time rival excelling once again, having missed the second half of the 2016 season due to injury.
“Now I have a very tough match against Dimitrov. On the other side of the draw, I think it is great for tennis that Roger is there again after an injury, after a lot of people talk about always the same things, that probably he will never be back.
“The real thing is that he’s back and he’s probably ready to win again, fighting again to win a major. That’s the real thing, and that’s good for the fans because Roger is a legend of our sport. I am happy to be there, too. I am focused on my semi-final.”
Watch highlights of Britain’s Johanna Konta’s quarter-final defeat by Serena Williams at the Australian Open on Wednesday.
ATPWorldTour.com provides updates of the Australian Open quarter-final
Ninth seed and 2009 champion Rafael Nadal leads third seed Milos Raonic 6-4 on Wednesday night in their Australian Open quarter-final. The winner will play No. 15 seed Grigor Dimitrov, a straight-sets winner over No. 11 seed David Goffin, on Friday.
Nadal targeted Raonic’s backhand early on, a clear tactic from fellow Mallorcan Carlos Moya, a former World No. 1 and Raonic’s former coach now working with Nadal. Raonic saved one break point in the fifth game, but lost his serve by striking an overhead long to gift Nadal a 4-3 lead. Nadal’s 12 winners, nine of 10 net points won, and just two unforced errors highlighted a dominant display in the 43-minute opener.
Raonic is looking to record his second straight win over Nadal, having beaten the 14-time Grand Slam champion in the quarter-finals of the recent Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.
Nadal, who leads 6-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, is attempting to record his 50th match win at the Melbourne Park major. He’s also looking for a spot in his 24th Grand Slam championship semi-final.
| Davis Cup, Canada v Great Britain |
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| Venue: TD Place Arena, Ottawa Dates: 3-5 Feb |
| Coverage: BBC TV, Radio 5 live & BBC Sport website |
World number three Milos Raonic could miss Canada’s Davis Cup tie against Great Britain next week.
Raonic, 26, injured an abductor muscle in Wednesday’s straight-set loss to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
He said his participation in the first-round meeting from 3-5 February in Ottawa is “very much up in the air”.
Britain are without world number one Andy Murray after he was not included in Leon Smith’s squad.
Murray, 29, is set to recuperate following his shock exit from the Australian Open against Mischa Zverev.
| Australian Open 2017 |
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| Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Dates: 16-29 Jan |
| Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website; TV highlights on BBC Two and online. |
Rafael Nadal reached his first Grand Slam semi-final since 2014 with a superb 6-4 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 victory over Canada’s third seed Milos Raonic.
The 14-time Grand Slam winner, who has been troubled by injuries in recent years, saved six set points in the second set before dominating the third.
Nadal, who won the title in 2009, faces 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov on Friday after the Bulgarian beat David Goffin.
The Spaniard, 30, remains on course to meet Roger Federer in Sunday’s final.
Federer, 35, will play his fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka in the first semi-final on Thursday.
Nadal’s win means that six of the eight players in the men’s and women’s semi-finals are over 30.
Nadal last reached a Grand Slam semi-final when he won the French Open – his last major title – in 2014.
A succession of injuries raised serious concerns about his future but he has battled back and looked close to his very best against the in-form Raonic.
The Spaniard broke the big-serving Canadian once in the first set to take the lead but Raonic, the highest seed left in the men’s draw, looked like he would level the match in the second.
Raonic needed a medical timeout midway through the set for an unspecified problem, but came back stronger and had three set points on Nadal’s serve at 5-4.
Nadal saved them all and then saved two more in the tie-break before Raonic double-faulted on the sixth set point.
The ninth seed took advantage of Raonic’s lack of mobility in the third set to wrap up an impressive victory.
He celebrated with a huge leap before falling to his knees as emotion took over.
Dimitrov, who works with Dani Vallverdu, former coach of Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych, beat 11th seed Goffin from Belgium 6-3 6-2 6-4.
The 25-year-old began the year with a title in Brisbane and has now won 10 matches in a row.
“The last two years have been a rollercoaster for me, but I’m happy with the way it happened,” said Dimitrov.
“I’m appreciating things much better now. To be back in the semi-finals of a Slam means too much for me right now.”
He will be appearing in his second major semi-final, having made it to the same stage at Wimbledon in 2014.
Britain’s Johanna Konta is upbeat despite her quarter-final loss to Serena Williams at the Australian Open, saying she “enjoyed” the experience.
| Australian Open 2017 |
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| Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Dates: 16-29 Jan |
| Coverage: Daily live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website; TV highlights on BBC Two and online from 21 January. |
Britain’s Johanna Konta described her quarter-final defeat by Serena Williams at the Australian Open as the “best experience of my life”.
An emotional Konta, who was playing the 22-time Grand Slam champion for the first time, said she would come back stronger from the 6-2 6-3 defeat.
“There’s so many things I can learn from that,” the 25-year-old said.
“I don’t think there’s one player that goes up against her and feels they’ve got much of a say in the matches.”
Williams, 35, dropped only three points behind her first serve and attacked Konta’s second serve with particular relish.
The American hit 25 winners to Konta’s 11 and hit 10 aces as she recovered from a break down early in the second set to win in 75 minutes.
“She’s able to really make sure that the points are on her terms,” said world number nine Konta.
“Even if she’s on the defence, it makes you feel that you have to do more with the ball. She makes you feel that pressure.”
The end of a nine-match winning streak, which included her Sydney International triumph earlier this month and not a single dropped set, moved Konta to tears.
“I cried because I’m generally quite an emotional person. I think I’ve never hid that away,” she added.
“I’ve worked incredibly hard to direct that emotion into a positive way and into a constructive way on court. But off court I’m still very emotional.”
Konta, beaten in the semi-finals by eventual champion Angelique Kerber in Melbourne last year, will return to Britain before representing her country in the Fed Cup in Estonia that begins on 8 February.
Williams advances to a semi-final meeting with unseeded Croat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who she last played in 1998 when both were teenagers.
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
No matter how many times you have watched Serena Williams play, it is perhaps just not possible to appreciate how hard she hits the ball – and how quickly it arrives on your racquet – until you have shared a court with her.
Johanna Konta had her first experience of that today and was not able to maintain the standards she had set earlier in the fortnight when faced with such persistent pressure.
But a run to the quarter-finals means she could well retain her position in the world’s top 10.
After a few days’ rest, Konta is planning to play Fed Cup for Great Britain in Estonia and then rejoin the tour in Doha and Dubai. She has a packed schedule ahead, although may play one or two fewer tournaments if she keeps winning matches at the same rate.
| Australian Open 2017 |
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| Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Dates: 16-29 January |
| Coverage: Daily live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website; TV highlights on BBC Two and online from 21 January. |
Defending champion Gordon Reid is out of the wheelchair singles at the Australian Open following a three-set loss to Belgian Joachim Gerard.
Briton Reid went down 7-5 5-7 7-5 as Gerard made amends for defeat by the Scot in last year’s final.
Fellow Briton Alfie Hewett lost 6-3 3-6 6-3 to French second seed Stephane Houdet.
Andy Lapthorne beat American second seed David Wagner 6-2 6-2 to win his first round-robin quad match.
Reid’s Australian Open campaign is not over as he will partner Gerard in the wheelchair doubles.