Australian Open 2022: Final! Rafael Nadal only has to tremble briefly against Matteo Berrettini
Rafael Nadal is in the final at the Australian Open 2022. The sixth in the world rankings showed no weaknesses with a strong performance against Matteo Berrettini, with the exception of the third set, and is now waiting for the winner of the duel between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Jan 28, 2022, 07:49 am
Rafael Nadal is still missing a win on another note in the history books. If the Spaniard triumphs at the Australian Open, the 35-year-old will be the first player to break the sound barrier of 21 Grand Slam titles. And could lead this comparison alone for the first time - ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (20 each). In any case, the Spaniard made the penultimate step impressively against Matteo Berrettini on Friday.
The match plan that was to be expected in advance became apparent early on against the Roman: Nadal maltreated the Italian's backhand and tried to score points quickly. 14 unforced mistakes by Berrettini in the first set, an early break and a highly concentrated service should be enough for the 20-time major champion to get round one dry after around 40 minutes.
Nadal with a lightning start in set two
Same game in set two: Rafael Nadal started like the fire brigade here too, also benefiting from Matteo Berrettini, who seemed to be feeling increasingly uncomfortable in the Rod Laver Arena that evening. And also got a service game from his opponent early in the second round. For Berrettini, this sentence quickly became a debacle, Nadal stuck to his direction - the Italian, on the other hand, was unable to counter the forehand spin of his opponent.
The constant pressure of the 35-year-old certainly had an effect on Matteo Berrettini: while the backhand remained the Roman's biggest problem, Berrettini overpowered more and more often with the forehand. The logical consequence: Nadal got another break to make it 3-0 in the second set, the preliminary decision in this round. After a little less than one and a half hours of play, the Mallorcan already pulled away 6:3 and 6:2.
Berrettini takes set three
At least in the third set, Berrettini was able to prevent an early break, although the Spaniard had already started to take his serve from the Roman in the third game. That seemed to give the increasingly aggressive Italian a boost. So what could be seen in the seventh game was in the offing: Matteo Berrettini had three break chances in a row when Nadal served - the first for the Roman against the 35-year-old in his career so far. The second passed with a remarkable forehand shot. Berrettini was back in the match and a little later secured the third set 6-3.
The fourth set was initially extremely balanced. Matteo Berretini has been almost untouchable on his own serve for some time now, making more than 22 (!) serve points in a row. Nadal, on the other hand, was struggling, but was able to thwart some of the Italian's half-chances at the start of the set. And when the score was 4: 3 - something out of nowhere - he had two chances for the break himself. Berrettini was able to fend off the first after a sensational rally, but then the second matched - Nadal managed the break to 5: 3.
Nadal: "Had to suffer"
That should have been the decision in this match: After almost three hours, the sixth in the world rankings fixed the 6: 3, 6: 2, 3: 6 and 6: 3 success over Matteo Berrettini. "The first two sets were my best two in a long time. But then he was very dangerous, he has the weapons to come back"; said Nadal after his success. "So then I had to suffer, had to work to get to the final. It means so much to me to have made it to the final here."
"At the moment it's all about the Australian Open for me. I had a few finals here, was close against Novak and Roger. But I have another chance here and will try my best," said the world number six when asked about the possibility of going down Under to celebrate his 21st Grand Slam title.
In the final, the Spaniard is now waiting for the winner of the second semi-final between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev ( with us in the live ticker, from 9:30 a.m. ). A last hurdle for the world number six on the way to the 21st major title - and only second at the Australian Open.
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