It can never be considered a complete surprise to see Rafael Nadal in the latter stages of a Grand Slam, but this bottom-half semifinal at the Australian Open could not have been anticipated by many when the fortnight began. It will be Nadal vs. Grigor Dimitrov on Friday.
Rafael Nadal and Grigor Dimitrov will be squaring off for the ninth in their careers when they collide in the Australian Open semifinals on Friday night.
Nadal is dominating the head-to-head series 7-1, including 4-1 on hard courts and 1-0 in Melbourne. They faced each other in the quarterfinals of this event three years ago, when the Spaniard prevailed 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(7), 6-2. Dimitrov finally got on the scoreboard in this matchup with a 6-2, 6-4 rout last fall in Beijing, but that came during a stretch in which Nadal somewhat inexplicably played two fall-swing tournaments in between the U.S. Open and a premature end to his season because of a wrist problem.
It’s safe to say the 14-time major champion has recovered nicely from the injury that forced him out of the French Open after two rounds and prevented him from playing Wimbledon. Nadal won the six-man Abu Dhabi event a few weeks ago, lost a three-setter to Milos Raonic in the Brisbane quarters, and then avenged that defeat by beating Raonic 6-4, 7-6(7), 6-4 on Wednesday. The world No. 9 preceded that result with wins over Florian Mayer, Marcos Baghdatis, Alexander Zverev (five sets), and Gael Monfils.
Dimitrov is through to his second career slam semifinal (Wimbledon in 2014) thanks to defeats of Matthew O’Connell, Hyeon Chung, Richard Gasquet, Denis Istomin, and David Goffin. The 15th-ranked Bulgarian is an amazing 10-0 this year, having warmed up for the Aussie Open by capturing the Brisbane title.
“He’s a player that has been on the tour for a lot of years already,” Nadal said of Dimitrov. “He’s a player that has an unbelievable talent; unbelievable potential. He started the season playing unbelievable. (It) is going to be a very tough match for me. I hope for him, too. I’m going to try to play my best because I know he’s playing with high confidence.”
What’s more unbelievable is that six of the eight semifinalists–three on the men’s side and three women–are into their 30s. That includes Nadal and Roger Federer. If a dream Nadal-Federer final is derailed, it likely won’t be Dimitrov holding responsibility. He does not have the same firepower like that of Raonic or Zverev with which to seriously trouble the former world No. 1. Nadal actually finished with more winners than Raonic in the quarterfinals, an obvious indication that he is playing the correct way: offensively.
More of the same from Nadal would be more than enough to get past Dimitrov.
Pick: Nadal in 4
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siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!111
vamossssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
The crowd is screwing with Dimi’s head now
30-30….it is slipping away. Get better length on the forehand Rafa!!!
Cmon Dimitrov. First grand slam final, let’s go.
Vamos Rafa, you can do it!
niceeeeeeeee backhand slice!!! break point! come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Nadal is so tough to beatwhen the crowd is going nuts like this
VAMOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!
NOW HOLD ON TO IT CHAMP!!! YOU ARE ALMOST THERE
Vamos!!!!!!
Poor Dimi….. Really deserves to get to this final
he did but Rafa deserved it more! Surviving Zverev and now Dimi, he is the man!
Respect for Dimi!
Rafa needs to recover now and be ready!
I will repeat again. Impossible for Nadal to lose AO
????❤❤❤
Dimi’s overheads have been nuts
YESSSSSSSSSS RAFA!!!!!!!I LOVE U!!!!!!OH MY GOD!OH MY GOD NNY AND AMY..WHERE R U!!I NEED YOUR HUG RIGHT NOW!!!!
mira andi i am here!!!! what is the score????
OH GOD AMY!!I think i saw the light at the end of the tunnel now!!Urgh!My chest hurt amy!!..Oh the score…63 57 76 67 64..
are you ok mira andi??? it’s worth it though now he has won…!! loads of hugs darling….!!!
rafa will end up killing us one of these days…!!
Oh God amy!!Yeah i’m okay but it was soooo surreal!Amy i feel like i want to go to u and beg u to hug me and don’t let go ever!!…Yeah,rafa will end up killing us nowadays amy!!..Btw..you’re working?
yes am working MA….couldn’t watch which is probably just as well as it would have made me go crazy. kudos to you honey….!!
i will be there for the final though…
Amy,promise you’ll be here on sunday?I will be waiting for u okay?
yes i promise i will be there MA. may not be there right at the beginning though..so dont worry as i will be along shortly…
YES!!It doesn’t matter when u will come here amy…just come anytime okay?Miss u..
YEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Vamos Nadal, ole tus huevos!!!!
YESAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Yessssss!
Vaaaaaammmmmmmmmmooooooooooossssssss!
OH MY GOD,MY STUPID TEARS WON”T STOP NOW!!!OH MY GOD!!STANDING OVATION TO TWO GREAT CHAMPIONS!!!
mira andi…big hug darling!!! so pleased for you…..!!!
Amy!!Did u watch the match??it’s crazy crazy good tennis amy!!Oh i wish u were here with me!!And Nny was a traitor..she left me alone for hours now!!And THANK U THANK THANK U for your good wishes amy!!Oh GOD I LOVE U TOO AMY!!!
no i couldn’t watch mira andi…but i told you i would try and come here and find you and i kept my promise!!
rafa will be the death of us hey!!???
more hugs for you honey…am proud of you for watching the torture…
ha ha ha…thank u for stopping by amy..i love u!!!!Thank u for keeping your promise…
Six down !!!!!! ✌ ✌ ✌ ✌ ✌ ✌ Vaaaaaamoooooos Rafa!!!!!!
I am in tears and howling. Too much for emotion for me
All you guys who have endured watching this torture of a match own a little piece of this victory, especially vamorafa!