Nadal through to Quarter Finals in Melbourne

20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal beat Adrian Mannarino in straight sets to book his place in the quarter finals at the Australian Open. The Spaniard had to endure an epic 28 minute tie-braker in the first before going on to claim the victory 7-6 (16-14) 6-2 6-2.

The two-time Wimbledon Champion will play Denis Shapovalov in the quarters who produced a fantastic display to beat third seed Alexander Zverev 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-3. Zverev will be hugely disappointed after winning the ATP Finals in December he was considered as one of the favourites to win the tournament. Shapovalov will be playing in his first Australian Open quarter final and will pose a stern test for Nadal.

Nadal is now the highest seed left in the tournament and is also the only former Melbourne champion left in the competition. Although his last title in Australia was in 2009 he will be hoping to capitalise on the absence of fellow 20-time Grand Slam winners Roger Federer & Novak Djokovic.

 

 

 

“Rafael Nadal” by ciccontetanya is licensed under CC BY 2.0.