Rafael Nadal says the level of tennis he is producing at the Australian Open is at a higher standard than what he anticipated after battling into the last eight on Sunday.
The former world No.1 defeated fellow left-hander Adrian Manaarino 7-6(12), 6-2, 6-2, in what was an entertaining encounter highlighted by a marathon 82-minute opening set. In the opening tiebreak alone Nadal needed 28 minutes before prevailing on his seventh set point opportunity. After clinching the lead, he cruised towards the finish line by breaking the Frenchman in five out of his seven service games.
“He was playing at a very high level. His ball was super difficult to control out there,” Nadal said of Manaarino during his press conference.
“The ball came so fast, and the serve was difficult to read, and he opened the court very well. It was difficult to return then I started to return more inside the court with the second (serve), and I took some advantage.”
“It is a victory with a lot of value, and especially the first set, so I’m very happy about that. I was able to resist the tough moments in the first set. It is a very important victory for me.”
Nadal’s victory has elevated him into the last eight at Melbourne Park for the 14th time in his career. To put that into perspective only two other men have managed to reach that milestone in the tournament’s history – John Newcome (14) and Roger Federer (15). He has now won 296 main draw matches at a Grand Slam tournament.
The run of the 35-year-old in Melbourne comes following what has been weeks of frustration. Last year, Nadal was forced to end his season in August due to a foot injury. He suffers from Muller-Weiss Syndrome, which is a degenerative disease that causes a deformity of one of the bones in the central part of the foot. Then, during his off-season preparation he caught covid-19 whilst participating in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.
Despite those blips Nadal is now on an eight-match winning streak after winning his 89th title at the Melbourne Summer Cup earlier this month. Although, he is taking nothing for granted.
“In terms of tennis, I am happy in general terms, of course. I have done a lot of things well, and knowing from where we (my team) are coming and the amount of practices at the highest level that I was able to do before, things are going much better than expected, without a doubt.” Nadal commented.
“But sport changes quick, and you need to be ready and you need to be there at the right moment to get it if you have the chance. I have been working very hard for a lot of months, not that much on the court, but in all ways to try to come back to the tour. I am enjoying the fact that I am here and I am enjoying the fact that I am again in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, something that it’s very special for me.’
“I am excited just to have another chance to compete again against a fantastic player in a match.”
The next test for Nadal comes in the shape of Denis Shapovalov who stunned third seed Alex Zverev in straight sets during his fourth round match. He leads their head-to-head 3-1 but was pushed to three sets on the clay during their last encounter at the Italian Open last year.
“He has a lot of amazing things in his game, and his results say that. When he’s playing well, it’s very difficult to stop him,” Nadal said of his next opponent.
“If he’s able to play regularly in terms of his level he’s gonna be a potentially very high-ranking player.”
Nadal is currently on a 21-match winning streak when it comes to playing a left-handed player on the Tour. The last time he lost to a left-handed opponent was against Shapovalov back in 2017.
