Ruthless Nadal cruises into Australian Open semis
The Spaniard's match against American Frances Tiafoe, who turned 21 on Sunday, was billed as an intriguing clash of generations
Melbourne —Rafael Nadal kept the flag flying for the old guard at the Australian Open with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 win over American Frances Tiafoe on Tuesday for a place in the semifinals where he will meet another next generation player in Stefanos Tsitsipas. Nadal’s match against Tiafoe, who turned 21 on Sunday, was billed as an intriguing clash of generations after Roger Federer’s loss to Tsitsipas, but the second seed was ruthless as he reached the last four without dropping a set. Nadal broke Tiafoe’s first service game in each set and with a second break in the third set wrapped up victory in 1hr 40min. “I felt having the break at the beginning of every set, that gave me a lot of confidence. Then I was serving well, playing solid,” Nadal told reporters. Nadal was forced to retire hurt in the fifth set of the 2018 quarterfinal against eventual finalist Marin Cilic, eight years after pulling out midway through his last-eight clash against Andy Murray with a knee injury.
“It’s very ...
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