The Rafael Nadal freight train rolled on in Melbourne, with the Spaniard dispatching young Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 to book a spot in Sunday’s Australian Open final.
Just call Nadal the NextGen punisher; he went into his semifinal match against Tsitsipas having already destroyed two of the most promising young players of the new generation of tennis in Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe. That he would get a crack at a third in the semis had the makings of an intriguing story.
Tsitsipas had been the talk of the tournament so far–rather like he was when he made the final in Toronto earlier this summer. He blindsided Roger Federer in the fourth round, beating the Swiss Maestro at his own game. And though he’s not a grinder, the Greek ground out a win over Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarters. When asked about his impending match with Nadal, Tsitsipas said, “I felt very close to beating him in Toronto, though the score was 6-2, 7-6” and, “It’s going to be interesting. I feel like I can do something good against him.”
He was wrong. At least this time.
Nadal absolutely smothered his much younger opponent. The devastating form that Nadal showed all week culminated in perhaps his best performance of the tournament so far. Tsitsipas was impotent on the Nadal serve. The Greek didn’t earn a single break point in the match until the final game with Nadal serving at 5-0 to serve up his second bagel of the tournament. Tsitsipas didn’t convert.
“Honestly, I have no idea what I can take from that match,” the underdog admitted. “It’s not that I was even close to get to something; I only got six games from that match. I feel very strange. I feel happy with my performance in this tournament, but at the same time I feel disappointed. I feel like I could do a bit better today. I don’t know. That’s how I felt. But it’s a very, very weird feeling. Almost felt like I just couldn’t play better.”
Nadal’s victory came in one hour and 46 minutes, which would be fast and efficient for any slam semifinal,but for Nadal it’s a win at warp speed. The second seed has accomplished what once would have been unthinkable: he’s playing short points. It’s not that he won’t grind out points from the baseline, he’s just more judicious about when he does so. Combined with an improved serve and Nadal has put together his most impressive, dominant run ever in Melbourne (final result notwithstanding).
“I played well, of course,” he assessed. “I have been playing well during the whole event. Every match, more or less, I think I did a lot of things well. Tonight, was another one. I played solid–with my serve, playing aggressive. Probably the backhand was better today than the rest of the days.”
The 2009 champion awaits the winner of Novak Djokovic and surprise semifinalist Lucas Pouille, who contest their semifinal on Friday.
[polldaddy poll=10220809]
It would be unfair for Rafa not to win this AO. He totally deserves it.
Rafa certainly deserves another AO title, no doubt about it. After his 2009 title against Roger the AO turned into his unlucky slam, although four more final appearances are certainly not too shabby. But in his following three final appearances he lost two very close and and definitely winnable 5-setters against Novak and Fed respectively, and in the 2014 final against Wawrinka, where he was the clear favorite, and whom he had previously owned, he contracted a freak back injury during warm-up which destroyed all chances against a great playing Wawa. If this hadn’t been a slam final Rafa would’ve probably retired. He actually hurt himself at the AO and had to retire more often than at any other tournament. Especially after the disaster of the 2014 final he was clearly traumatized and somewhat disenchanted with tennis, and although he still somehow managed to win the 2014 FO, he subsequently went into a prolonged tailspin which was triggered by more injuries and unprecedented ongoing mental difficulties, of which he eventually pulled out in 2017. Yes, rafafans clearly feel that the fickle Lady Luck somehow owes Rafa another AO title and the so far elusive double career slam. But unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. Lady Luck couldn’t care less, and Novak also has some say in this. So, Rafa can’t count on luck’s cooperation and has to do it all by himself ☺
Rafa just looks awesome, and if it’s a Joker-Rafa final, then the fans will be in for a treat!
If I was a Rafa fan, I would prefer Pouille. Sure, a victory against Novak would be sweeter, but there is much more risk involved. He will start thinking more and the final brings additional pressure. As a neutral tennis fan, that would be an amazing match to watch.
I doubt this wish would be granted. but nadal is in a good position to beat Novak, IMO
that makes it a must win
if he can’t beat Djokovic in this form, I’m not sure he ever can (except on clay, of course)
I totally agree that Rafa has more riding on this than Novak. How many more shots at a double career slam can Rafa realistically expect? To me it looks like now or never. Also, a Novak win would mean that he creeps dangerously close towards Rafa’s overall slam count. But I disagree that a loss on Sunday means Rafa can never beat Novak again (except on clay). We have also believed after the loss of the AO ’12 final that Rafa would never be able to beat Novak again on anything else than clay – and we all know how this eventually turned around in 2013. A loss on Sunday would be devastating, but Rafa certainly won’t give up, and who knows how long Novak will be able to sustain his newest success wave.
We also don’t know if Rafa’s current splendid hardcourt form has already peaked. He might well be able to get even better as the season progresses. So far Rafa played absolutely great but he hasn’t been challenged at all and didn’t have to master a mid-match crisis. Therefore it’s a bit difficult to assess his true hardcourt form. Roger also used to look always great – until he was truly challenged by someone and looked not so great anymore. I’m sure that it will be Novak who will challenge Rafa on Sunday – and then we will be able to see where Rafa truly stands this early after his come.
Rafa’s match was a thing of beauty. Delightful to watch!
Read both Rafa’s and Tsitsipas pressers, very interesting take from both. I like how Rafa describes his own game – his game is not about defence or offence, ‘But I play all the shots with a goal. There is not better way to be aggressive than hit every shot with the goal to create damage on the opponent. That was my goal during all the career.’ Quote from his presser.
Tsitsipas’ take on Rafa and his game: “He gives you no rhythm,” said Tsitsipas. “He plays just a different game style than the rest of the players. He has this, I don’t know, talent that no other player has. I’ve never seen a player have this. He makes you play bad. I don’t know. I would call that a talent.” Quote from Tsitsipas’ presser.
Rafa is really one of a kind, a unique player, and it takes a fellow ATG or two to play against him to give us epic matches after epic matches.
Tsitsipas need not worry too much though, for he’s still young and will definitely have his time in the sun once a player like Rafa is gone from the tour, for he won’t be facing a player like Rafa again once Rafa is gone.
“He gives you no rhythm.” LOL! Did you ever think you’d see the day when this would be an opponent’s main complaint re Rafa of all people??? Big grats to Rafa and Carlos for engineering this change.
It will be Novak only in the final…pouille is not beating Novak…if rafa has to get the double career slam..it has to go through Novak n if he does manage to beat him..it will make it all the more special…
I was very surprised that Pouille best Raonic.however well he played then i don’t see him beating Nole. Nole can just hang on and grind him down with his incredible defence and court coverage even if he isn’t playing well.
giving him a set is generous
As much as it pains me to do so, I have to agree with Ricky, here. It’s hard to imagine Djokovic losing even a set to Pouille at this point in the tournament. 3rd round? yes. But something happens to Djokovic as a tournament wears on. I just don’t see anything but a straight-set win.
Danke, true, but if Rafa’s loses, it will also be so much more painful😣It’s no secret that Novak has probably singlehandedly saved Roger’s record slam count. Without Novak Rafa would’ve probably bested Roger in that department a while ago. Heck, if it hadn’t been for Novak, Rafa would’ve probably won Wimby last year and would be gunning on Sunday for his 19th slam trophy! And with a little luck and good health he could’ve reached No. 20 and a draw with Roger already this year after another FO win.
Fedfans should be Novak’s loudest cheerleaders ☺
Correction:
That should read:”Sanju, true…” I was adressing his assertion that a win over Djoker would be sweeter than a win over Pouille.
Rafa had himself to blame for losing to Djoko at Wimbledon last year; he lost the third set TB when he was having a SP, similar thing happened in the QF against Delpo. Rafa wasn’t clutch enough to win and that’s his downfall.
He played better than Djoko in almost all the sets except set 1, set five was close except that Djoko was clutch in saving all the BPs but Rafa wasn’t. For that Rafa lost the chance of another Wimbledon title and lost his YE no.1 ranking.
Just imagine Rafa having that Wimbledon title, he would be having 18 slams vs Djoko’s 13, tie with Djoko at 3 Wimbledon each; five YE no.1 vs Djoko’s four; and 209 weeks at no.1 by now, vs Djoko’s 223. See the importance of that match?
Yeah Lucky!Very agree!….That’s why i want Rafa to win this AO so bad….so he can redeem himself & get away from Novak even more…not to mention it will do him worlds of good to know that when he’s healthy,he also has a chance to beat worlds best HC player in his own background….
Rafa certainly has a chance now….and i hope he wouldn’t blow it this golden opportunity…Vamos Rafa!!
Keep the faith Mira…things have never come to rafa easy…for all the misfortune he had at AO over the years due to injury n losing some very close finals, he is due for one win here and hopefully will on Sunday. Yes its no given thing that rafa will win but lets be clear that Novak is not a lock for the title…rafa will want to make a statement on Sunday and he is expecting only Novak in the final and I believe he will be ready and prepare.
Yes Sanju!….I’ve never feel this confident everytime Rafa play Novak….there’s always a 50-50 chance…but this time,with his revamped serve & super aggressive game play…oh boy!….i dared to dream big Sanju!….
I think Rafa will be very determined &very hungry for the title bcoz of the series of disappointment that he suffered all these years at AO Sanju…Ohh!…what a happy bunch we are if that dream come true!…Right Sanju?
Well, we all know Novak builds his game to bring the best for the semis & final. I’ve noticed in his interviews the high confidence he feels as he always talked about aiming at winning the title and no talk about one match at the time or similar. His draw was favorable and he has seen himself in the final already then…
Pouille will be terrified in the semi and Nole’s persistent rallies will destroy him…would love to see some competition but it’s highly unlikely he could get a set of Nole…
However, Rafa should be ready! He looks so strong out there! He was not playing this well and certainly was not serving so good at Wimby and yet he was a few points away from beating Novak. I still think the roof played a deciding role in that match. Novak asking to play under the roof meant he needed some advantage to be able to beat Rafa. Rafa should draw confidence from that match and should enter this final with strong belief in victory!
Vamos Champ!
This is the best I have ever seen Nadal play, certainly on HC. Even on clay only 2017 RG final compares, imo. He was devastating from both sides, and the BH in particular, even if it didn’t produce as many highlight reel shots. Tsisipas hit several very good shot cross court to the Nadal BH, only to have them come back with interest. The only minor hiccup was Rafa’s serve, but he’s obviously going for more so is going to have a lower pct.
If he can bring this form to the final I would make him a slight favourite over even Djokovic, unless the latter can summon his 2016 best. Even then it would be too close to call with Rafa playing like this.
Id agree with that assessment, but its strange why Rafa never often played this style of tennis on HCs over the years when he had the ability .
Obviously mitigating circumstances for Tsisipas with his age and inexperience in Slams ,and Im glad the roof wasn’t an issue this time.
But not taking away from Rafa’s performance.
Natasha…your dream and vision ..you remember ? Maybe it will come true this time 🙂
I certainly hope so, Sanju… 🙂
Vamos!!!
I certainly hope so, Sanju… 😀
Vamos!
I want to put an important stat and data and draw a parallel here
2010 uso…rafa was going for his first career slam..he had retooled his serve at that event…he never lost a set till the final…n he completed the career slam beating Novak in the final..
Circa 2019…rafa going for double career slam..he has retooled his serve…he has Not lost a set till final…and he will face Novak in the final..
Maybe I am reading too much but it’s exact same events lining up…history repeating ?
Ohh!…what a coincidence Sanju!!…hahaha….I don’t mind about history repeating itself Sanju!…C’mon!…bring it on!!
Re: Big Al’s post at 1:52 AM. Why Rafa couldn’t play like this all along?
I blame it on Toni! Had Moya took over earlier, he would’ve told Rafa to be more aggressive, cut down on the grinding, concentrating on building up his serve!
Anyone watching tennis would have realised that what Rafa lacked was a good to great serve. Once Moya joined the team, we saw the improvement in Rafa’s second serve in 2017; knowing that Rafa’s second serve was so vulnerable and Rafa was having problem keeping within the time limit because he’s under pressure to serve well on his first deliveries, all thanks to his poor second serve. The way he won at the FO that year with those unbelievable second serve stats told the whole story.
Now in 2019, they’ve finally improved on Rafa’s first serve (imo it could be improved during 2018 if not for Rafa’s several injuries in 2018). Had Rafa served better at Wimbledon, who knows, he could beat Delpo or even Djoko in four sets. With a better serve, he could’ve beaten Thiem at USO sooner than later!
Again, Rafa had to take the blame for that, for not planning his schedule well in 2017, for not skipping Beijing when he chose to play the Laver Cup, leading to injury at Shanghai. Those injuries had carry over effect into his 2018 imo.
Again, Luckystar, I totally agree. Toni’s method is a strategy which makes for long rallies and only going for the winner at an opportune time. Just look how much quicker Rafa’s matches are these days. He’s winning BO5 matches in less time than it used to take him to win BO3 set matches.
Uncle Toni taught Rafa all he knew about tennis from the age of 3 and Rafa was very successful playing that way but he would have been even more successful had he played an aggressive style. Maybe, Toni’s method is what has made Rafa unbeatable on clay so it’s not all bad. It is what it is.
He is a slightly more complete player than Djokovic with that serve .I prefer this more aggressive style. He could have played that way more at Wimbledon but maybe never made the adjustment after the long clay season.