Rafael Nadal Cruises Into Australian Open Final, Seeks Record Breaking 21st Grand Slam Title

Rafael Nadal Cruises Into Australian Open Final, Seeks Record Breaking 21st Grand Slam Title

Chukwu Ikechukwu
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:55 PM
  • Rafael Nadal has qualified to the final of the Australian Open after an impressive semi-final win over Matteo Berrettini
  • The 35-year-old Spaniard is level on 20 major titles with long-time rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
  • The Mallorca born tennis star won the semi-final duel with Berrettini in four sets after a brilliant third set fightback by the Italian

Rafael Nadal is on the verge of making history after sailing into the final of the Australian Open on Friday January 28.

The Spaniard overcame spirited Matteo Berrettini in the semi-finals in a thrilling four setter winning 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to book a place in Sunday’s final.

Rafael Nadal Cruise Into Australian Open Final, Seeks Record Breaking 21st Grand Slam Title
Rafael Nadal is bidding to win a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Photo by TPN
Source: Getty Images

According to the BBC, the 35-year old moved one win away from a record 21st Grand Slam men's title as he is currently level on 20 major titles with long-time rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Nadal showed no ill effects from a five-set quarterfinal victory over Denis Shapovalov in his previous game in which he dealt with an upset stomach.

The Spaniard will now wait to find out his opponents for Sundays final as Daniil Medvedev will battle against Stefanos Tsitsipas for a place in the Australian Open final.

Nadal not thinking about record

Meanwhile Rafael Nadal has stated he is not thinking about breaking records and becoming the greatest tennis player of all time after sealing his 29th major final of his career.

The 35-year old in a report via Forbes stated that he just focused on the ongoing Australian Open and not thinking about records at the moment.

“For me it’s all about the Australian Open more than anything else, no?
“It’s just an amazing event. I have been a little bit unlucky during my career with some injuries and other times I played amazing finals with good chances against Novak 2012, against Roger 2017.
“I was close a couple of times, I feel very lucky that I won once in my career."

Novak Djokovic in Talks to Sue Australia

Earlier Sportsbrief reported the saga between Novak Djokovic and the Australian government is far from coming to an end, despite the world number one being deported from the country before the start of the Australian Open.

Djokovic was originally detained and his VISA rejected when he arrived in Melbourne for the tournament, but he was then let go after his lawyers filed an appeal.

The Australian Government then threatened to deport Djokovic for a second time after he admitted to 'errors' with his paperwork and admitted to attending events and conducting an interview with a journalist while he was Covid19 positive.

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Chukwu Ikechukwu
Chukwu Ikechukwu Godwin is a journalist with over 9 years of experience in the Nigerian media industry. He has worked both in Radio (Today FM, Rhythm FM, Wish FM) and Television (Silverbird TV) as a Sports Analyst..
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