Rafael
Nadal won a thrilling semifinal against Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to
go into his sixth Australian Open final at Melbourne Park on Friday. The match
lasted for 55 minutes. This was Nadal’s ninth successive win in 2022. The
Spaniard is chasing his 21st Grand Slam. A win in the final on Sunday will take
him past Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who also have 20 Grand Slam titles each under their belt.

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This
was, meanwhile, Nadal’s second win in two matches against Berrettini. The
Spaniard seized four out of eight break points to seal the deal. He will now
face either Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the title clash.

Nadal,
who last won his Australian Open title in 2009, smashed 28 winners and 19
unforced errors and built the advantage in the mid-range and most extended
rallies to get better of his rival.

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“For
me it’s all about the Australian Open more than anything else. It just an
amazing event that as I said a couple of days ago now, I have been a little bit
lucky in my career with some injuries. At times I play good finals against
Novak in 2012and Roger in 2017. I was lucky to win once in 2009 but I never
thought about another chance dm in2022. Just enjoy the victory today and after
that try my best,” Nadal said after winning Friday’s semifinal clash.

Nadal
also paid a rich tribute to the fans of the Rod Laver Arena for supporting him
throughout the game.

Also Read: “What would Novak do?” Medvedev asks, cruising to Australian Open semi-finals

“Well,
as everybody knows I am more an outdoor than indoor player. But, yeah, I think
the stadium looks amazing like this closed with the amazing crowd like this is
even more noises, I enjoy the atmosphere a lot. I can’t complain at all.I knew
before the match that the roof is going to be closed. You know what, a
month-and-a-half I didn’t know if I was going to play tennis. It doesn’t matter
if it is outdoors or indoors today. I just wanted to play and do my best.”

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In
absence of Federer and Djokovic, Nadal is now favourite for the Australian Open
men’s title.