Rafael Nadal has survived a serious scare from Denis Shapovalov to earn his spot in a seventh Australian Open semifinal.
The Spanish legend seemed to be cruising through his quarterfinal clash when he won the opening two sets, but the Canadian 14th seed hit back to extend Nadal.
Incredibly, Nadal's 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 win ensured at least one of the 'Big Three' of Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic has made the last four for the 70th time in the past 71 majors.
Abc.net.au reports the only time it did not happen since 2004 came at the 2020 US Open when Nadal and Federer did not play and Djokovic was defaulted in the fourth round for recklessly hitting a ball that struck a lineswoman.
But Nadal's victory over Shapovalov did not come easy as he dealt with stomach issues during the match and was in danger of bowing out at the quarterfinal stage of the Australian Open for the third consecutive year.
Without Federer and Djokovic at Melbourne Park, Nadal now has an opportunity to be the first man to win 21 major singles titles.
Of all four majors, the first of the calendar year has been Nadal's least successful in terms of silverware.
[Source: Abc.net.au]
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