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Nadal Reaches AO Final, Verge Of Grand Slam History

  • Posted: Jan 28, 2022

It’s been a long, sometimes painful road, but Rafael Nadal stays on course for Grand Slam title number 21.

The Spaniard is one match away from becoming the greatest major champion in history after defeating Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 Friday to reach the Australian Open final.

An emotional Nadal was keen to put things into perspective after the win, reflecting on his journey to yet another Grand Slam championship match after struggling with a foot injury for the second half of the 2021 season.

“A month and a half ago I didn’t know if I would be able to play tennis,” the Spaniard said in his post-match on-court interview. “So it doesn’t matter, I just wanted to enjoy it and try my best.”

Nadal beat Berrettini in straight-sets in the 2019 US Open semi-finals, their only previous meeting. The Spaniard would have been happy with something similar on Rod Laver Arena, having admitted he felt ‘completely destroyed’ after his brutal five-set quarter-final encounter with Denis Shapovalov.

Meanwhile Berrettini’s quarter-final win over Gael Monfils made him the first Italian man to reach the Australian Open semi-finals, but he is still seeking his first win over a Top 10 player at a Grand Slam.

Nadal raced into a two-set lead early, frequently taking up a position inside the baseline during longer rallies to pin his opponent deep in the court with a barrage of topspin forehands to the Berrettini backhand.

The tactic earned Nadal early breaks in sets one and two, the World No. 7 getting few opportunities to gain any sort of foothold in his third major semi-final.

Berrettini was finally able to settle into some sort of rhythm, at one point winning 23 consecutive points on serve as he struck back to force a fourth set. Nadal stayed solid to seal victory, however, avoiding a similar ordeal to his clash with Shapovalov. It was the 500th hard-court match win of Nadal’s career as he offered up just two break points in the match and made just 19 unforced errors across the four sets.

“I started the match playing great,” said Nadal. “The first two sets were two of the best for a long time. I know how good Matteo is, he’s a very solid player, very dangerous. In the third I knew at some point he was going to go for his shots. We needed to suffer, we needed to fight, we fought again and that’s the only way to be where I am today. It means a lot to me to be in the final again here.”

As well as becoming the first man to 21 Grand Slam titles, lifting the trophy in Melbourne would make Nadal the second man (after World No. 1 Novak Djokovic) in the Open Era to win all four Grand Slams twice. Nadal was keen to treat Sunday’s match as he would any other major final, however.

“For me it’s all about the Australian Open, more than anything else,” said Nadal. “It’s just an amazing event. I feel very lucky that I won once [here] in my career, 2009, but I never thought about another chance in 2022, so I’ll just try to enjoy the victory today and then after tomorrow I’ll prepare my best.”

Standing between Nadal and his historic achievement will be the winner of the other semi-final between second seed Daniil Medvedev and fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. Nadal has positive ATP Head2Head records against both, leading Russian World No. 2 Medvedev 3-1 and Greek World No. 4 Tsitsipas 7-2.

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The Tour – Food Court: Kyrgios On Love For Sushi & His Cooking Skills

  • Posted: Jan 27, 2022

Sushi with a little romance on the side? Nick Kyrgios dishes on his pre-match meal, why he doesn’t’ eat before matches and what he’s throwing on the grill if he invited you around for dinner…

Go-to meal the night before a match?
Sushi is a good one for me; you get some carbohydrates with the rice, and you can monitor what you’ve had pretty easily. I like sushi because it’s kind of like an event: You go with your friends, your girlfriend or your partner, and it comes out on cute little plates, in cute little pieces, soy sauce, couple of giggles here or there. It’s romantic, so… sushi.

You’re having friends or family around for dinner, what are you cooking for them?
I’m a big fan of stir-fry noodles, they’re like my staple diet. I would probably buy some fresh Atlantic salmon and cut it into slices, maybe for some sashimi or chuck it on the grill. I can also make some good salads, so I’d chop up a couple of salads, mix it in, olive oil, lemon, all that type of stuff.

How do you rate your skills in the kitchen?
I’m actually pretty good, I’m pretty good in the kitchen. I’m a hubby, you know what I mean? I can whip up some good meals.

How long before a match would you eat?
If I’m playing in the afternoon or morning, I won’t eat before I play, I’ll just have a coffee and get out there. I don’t eat too much, and on match days I don’t eat much at all.

Your brother Christos is a pretty fit guy. Does he help you with your diet?
He’s definitely very helpful and supportive with my diet. Very good cook; he can cook an amazing amount of food and very good quality. But I feel in general I’m actually pretty good. I don’t eat meat and try not to eat dairy at all, so my diet in general is actually something I take pride in, I feel like I eat pretty good. My brother’s a meat-eater, I’m not.

Is there anything you eat on the court during a match?
Yes, I eat a lot of bananas.

Grigor [Dimitrov] said he hates bananas…
Yeah, I know, but it’s the one thing you can get quick energy from. It doesn’t taste too bad, but Grigor… if I had that rig, I would not be wearing a shirt often, I’ll tell you that much.

If you go to a restaurant, what are you ordering? Any restaurant.
I like a good piece of salmon, cooked medium-rare, maybe some asparagus on the side, just a nice clean meal. And I love oysters, oysters are like my thing. Fun fact for you, oysters are an aphrodisiac, so… it’s where it starts.

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