Australian Open: Tsitsipas upsets Nadal in five-set thriller, reaches semis
Stefanos Tsitsipas staged an epic comeback to record a 3-6, 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4, 7-5 victory over world number two Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open quarter-finals. With a stunning victory, the Geek became only the second player to recover from two sets down to beat Rafael Nadal at a Grand Slam. Notably, Tsitsipas is through to his third Grand Slam semi-final. Here is more.
How did the match pan out?
From 3-3, Nadal went on the win the opening set with multiple cross-court backhands. Nadal replicated it, eventually winning the second too. In the tie-break of third set, Nadal committed costly errors, handing Tsitsipas a comeback route. The former committed forehand errors at 4-4, with Tsitsipas clinching the fourth set. In the deciding set, Tsitsipas converted his third match point to script history.
Feats attained by Tsitsipas in the match
Tsitsipas joins Fabio Fognini in the exclusive club of players to have beaten Nadal from two sets down at a major championship. The latter had claimed a 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Nadal at the 2015 US Open. Meanwhile, Tsitsipas broke Nadal's 35-set winning streak at Grand Slam events to record his second win in eight ATP head-to-head meetings with the Spaniard.
Nadal's pursuit of 21st Grand Slam title ends for now
Nadal was en route to secure a record 21st Grand Slam title. The world number two has now fallen in the Australian Open quarter-finals in three of his past four visits to the tournament (2018, 2020 and 2021).
Tsitsipas to face Daniil Medvedev in semi-finals
Tsitsipas will lock horns with Russia's Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open semi-finals on the Rod Laver Areana. Medvedev extended his winning streak to 19 matches on Wednesday after defeating his ATP Cup team-mate Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-3, 6-2. Although Medvedev owns a 5-1 ATP head-to-head advantage against Tsitsipas, the Greek won the most recent encounter at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals.
No words to describe the victory: Tsitsipas
Speaking on his victory, Tsitsipas said, "I have no words to describe what has just happened on the court, my tennis speaks for itself." "It's an unbelievable feeling to fight at such a level and leave it out on the court. I started very nervously. I don't know what happened after the third set. I flew like a bird and everything worked for me."
