Rafael Nadal and Matteo Berrettini will be going head-to-head for just the second time in their careers when they meet again in the semifinals of the Australian Open on Friday.
Their only previous encounter also came at the business end of a Grand Slam, as Nadal got the best of Berrettini 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-1 in the 2019 quarterfinals. Interestingly, the Italian earned his spot in that U.S. Open matchup by outlasting Gael Monfils in five sets in the previous round; that is exactly what he did this time around, as well. Now it is Nadal who hopes the same trends continue, as not only did he beat Berrettini but he also went on to capture the title in New York City.
Neither man had an easy time setting up this rematch.
Prior to holding off Monfils 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2 on Tuesday night, Berrettini needed four sets against Brandon Nakashima and Stefan Kozlov in addition to another five-setter against Carlos Alcaraz plus a competitive three-setter against Pablo Carreno Busta. The seventh-ranked Italian has reached at least the quarterfinals of four consecutive majors, including the semis twice–here and last summer at Wimbledon, when he went all the way to the title match before falling to Novak Djokovic. Amazingly, Berrettini is 21-0 in his last 21 Grand Slam matches against opponents other than Djokovic.
Nadal mostly raced through his first three matches of the fortnight against Marcos Giron, Jannik Hanfmann, and Karen Khachanov–although he did drop one set to Khachanov. Things got tricky in a 28-minute first-set tiebreaker with Adrian Mannarino on Sunday, but the 35-year-old pulled away for a 7-6(14), 6-2, 6-2 victory. Nadal then faced his toughest test in the quarters, where he dealt with a mid-match stomach problem but ended up prevailing over Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 after four hours and eight minutes.
With both semifinals now on Friday instead of one Thursday and one Friday, two days off will be just what the doctor ordered for Nadal.
“It’s very important,” the 20-time major winner said of the extra rest. “I am not 21 anymore, so after this match it’s great to have two days off.”
It’s not an understatement to say that this could be the deciding factor in Friday’s semifinal, because on a level playing field this is a favorable matchup for Nadal–at least on anything other than grass. One of the recipe’s for beating the Spaniard is wielding a world-class backhand. Although Berrettini uses a two-hander that can sometimes withstand Nadal’s heavy topspin, his is far from elite–nothing that resembles the backhands of Djokovic, Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori, and others who have troubled Nadal in the past. The No. 6 seed is going to pepper Berrettini’s weaker wing time after time, just as he did against Shapovalov to induce a total of 51 unforced errors out of the Canadian.
Berrettini’s huge serve and forehand should keep this competitive from start to finish, but the fact that he isn’t in the tour’s top tier in the departments of backhand and defense will likely be his undoing.
Pick: Nadal in 4
who ya got?
Will always revere Rafa, but, no, he is not 21 anymore — even 31. MB in an arduous 5 sets
All rafans watch this. Moyas interview after yest match..it’s with subtitles …rafa had extreme dehydration and weighed 4 kilos less post the match, that’s shocking. Im worried now ,will he recover ..hope they will feed him enough salts
https://mobile.twitter.com/moyinis/status/1486182097542856712
Thanks for the link, Sanju. Don’t worry, Rafa will regain the lost weight once he rests and rehydrates.
They will take care of Rafa. They know what to do to replenish his body. The extra day was critical. That will give him more time.
I thought it was interesting that Moya spoke about the second serve. He says there were more DF’s, but that is the price for serving bugger. He pointed out that Rafa won the match, so this is a strategy they are using to make his serve more of a weapon.
Thanks for posting this, Sanju! great to hear from Carlos
NNY, YES! There we go. We had been talking about that 2nd serve. In fact, it took me a few games in that 250 event he played to notice this and I KNEW he is going bigger than he has ever been. I am so shocked no commentator or those pundits on the tennis channel or Eurosport noted this and it is NOT a small change. Nobody even asked Rafa about it in the pressers. All linsey davenport and Navratilova had to say was that Shapo gave an easy break away and that’s where the match was decided. No indepth analysis of pattern of plays etc.
Anyway, Rafa will come out with the same game plan and also come forward more. His volleying was AMAZING against Shapo.
Rafa will be fine and weather is okay. Hia will power will be off the charts. He KNOWS how great this opportunity is.
I expect him to come out blasting. He’ll take it to Matteo. I will be shocked if he doesn’t win this and I don’t see this going 5 sets. Of course I can be darn wrong but I feel confident of Rafa’s chances. It will be tough for Berettini to create chances on the return.
Nadal should win in 4 sets. Berrettini wont make more than a whimper in this match.
Berettini has the weapons to make it tight but yeah, I also think Nadal will be through in 3 or 4
Berrettini is a tougher prospect than Shapo.I can see this going five with the result depending on Nadals fitness.
I’m a bit disappointed Alcataz didn’t make it through so close
Me too re Alcataz.
Toni has said that Rafa nearly pulled out of the AO 3 days before he left because he felt he wasn’t in good enough physical shape to play.
It speaks volumes for his class and courage that he has got so far but I still think he has to win in 3/4 sets in the semis or the final if he gets there.
I don’t think he can win in 5 against Berrettini, Tsitsi or Med.
He has to come out and play aggressive from the get go.
I think Rafa has his chances against Mateo. Matteo has ahd 2 five setters and for his stature that is bound to take its toll, and the prospect of playing Rafa after all this to me is a tall order. I think baring any medical ailments I think Rafa is match tough and so he will be prepared. And honestly Mateo held his nerve to get this far but he looks very bearable given his close precious matches with Alcaraz and Monfils. Sorry but he doesn’t look that ominous to me!!
I still don’t think it was just the heat, even Moya was surprised that Rafa had a “heat stroke” after just 90 mins of play. In any case, I bet that any healthy tennis player loses a few kilos when they play 5 sets in heat, so 4 kilos looks a bit much but not extreme to me.
Like many pointed out, Berrettini is a very good player but normally he just doesn’t have what it takes to beat Rafa. He doesn’t even seem to have reached his best so far. Sure, he can serve big so he can probably snatch a set from Nadal, but unless the Spaniard has some physical issues Matteo can’t win this one.
Rafa in 4 seems the most likely outcome.
Rafa did not practise or hit today ? Seriously im a bit worried about the excess dehydration effect and that it will be day match on Friday too..today tsitsi match roof was closed midway
Moya said they would do about 20 minutes of a light workout with the bicycle. He says if Rafa does nothing it would be worse. They know what to do to get him ready.
The ladies’ Semis are both at night so I expect the men’s will be the same.
Is Rafa healthy now? After all energy drained out from the heatstroke, I dont think he will be 100% fit on friday..He might feel sluggish. Chances are slim to win two matches in a row against tough opponents at later stages of slam.
You obviously don’t know Rafa.
good thing it’s Berrettini, not Djokovic
If Rafa is 100% fit I have no doubt he can win. Good luck!
I am keeping my fingers crossed because Rafa is so unlucky at this tournament. I thought he was going to lose after the 3rd set the other day. Now with this revealed ailment my level of optimism of him getting through this match is slim.
This is not an ailment. He had heat stroke. I think being off six months and not playing best of five set matches and also getting Covid all factored into what happened with the excessive heat.
His chances are certainly not slim! He broke tge quarterfinal curse. Finally!
He’s broken it in 2019 also…
Nny, I know both you and Nadline are real (ardent) fans of Nadal and I always read your posts (congrats!). Now Ricky rarely see things like you two specifically in the beginning of a slam. I am a little more reassuring because he is mostly in agreement with you regarding Nadal beating Mateo tonight. One match at the time but I am hoping Nadal’s AO curse is over and he has a real possibility to lift his 21st slam this weekend.
I’m keen to see if Berrettini roars like a lion against Nadal like he did against Monfils.
I have this being a close match. There’s been plenty of upsets already where the gap between the two players was a lot wider than it is between these two.
Berrettini is getting marginally better and Nadal is sliding.
However, Nadal most likely gets another favor playing under the roof tomorrow. It’s almost like the Gods dont want him losing this title.
Don’t say that too loud please. I have been following this site for the last 10 years or so (though I never posted until the other day) and I can tell you we are very much pro Nadal I/most of us want him to conquer his 21 slams.
Is the ‘Anonymous’ someone from tenngrand to fuel the conversation ..so the thread gets more views and comments?
I have no association with this forum other than posting my personal opinion as a guest regarding this sport.
Nail on head. Theres too many Nadal fans on here for objective tennis discussion
Nah. “Anonymous” is either one of the trolls that drop in when they feel like annoying the regulars here or someone too lazy to sign in or someone who just forgot to sign in. Ricky runs the forum and Cheryl writes for it. Neither posts opinions very often and if they do they post under their names. This isn’t a flashy forum but it IS classy.
Take the 3.85 for Nadal.
Medvedev v Tsistipas is another 5 setter and neither of them will beat Nadal in the final.
All Nadal has to do is be regular Nadal and the title is his.
Zverev losing, Shapo choking in 5th set when he had a huge edge, Mannarino beating Karatsev, Djokovic getting deported, Kachanov playing a dumb match, the weather conditions on Friday putting the game under a roof and the cooler conditions on Monday sets this up perfectly for Nadal.
The Gods have spoken.
Why not put in a few conspiracy theories while you are at it? It’s all a plot! Your summary of what happened in this tournament us tinged with your over weening bias.
Zverev playing like crap, Shapo had his chances in the first game of the fifth set, obviously he did not have a huge edge because Rafa served great and got the early break. Mannarino beat Karatsev! So? Upsets don’t happen? He played great in the first set and TB against Rafa.
Novak getting deported was all on him. Enough said. Khachanov played a dumb match? He won a set. Not that dumb. But look who’s talking.
Hey, it’s a conspiracy from the weather Gods!
Please!
Anyone who has to post under the name “Anonymous” has something to hide. This is obviously not a Rafa fan. Too bad if you don’t like the Rafa fans here.
You think your analysis is objective? Don’t make me laugh!
The bookmakers will take every cent you own on Medvedev @ 2s to win the final. He’s sliding and looking at 2 more 5 setters to win the title.
I’d want 20/1 for that scenario.
Right now Id pick Tsitsipas to win the whole thing …
He’s an outside chance. I give him a better chance than Medvedev if he makes the final.
These were all the players Novaxxx DjoCovid was beating last year in the slams..Just saying.
And rightly so.
Except that you’re diminishing your credibility by calling names.
ya.. most recently in US open final
Exception that proves the rule.