Rafael Nadal Remains Alive For a Record 21st Major Title At Australian Open— And He’ll Face Shapovalov, Not Zverev In Quarterfinals

Rafael Nadal remains alive for a record 21st Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open — and his quarterfinal opponent is not the man many had expected him to face when the draw came out.

After his 7-6 (14), 6-2, 6-2 fourth-round victory over fellow left-hander Adrian Mannarino on Sunday, No. 6 seed Nadal will face No. 14 Denis Shapovalov — and not No. 3 Alexander Zverev — in the quarterfinals. Nadal is 3-1 against Shapovalov but the Canadian won their only encounter on outdoor hardcourts at the 2017 Canadian Open.

Nadal, 35, is into his 14th Australian Open quarterfinal and is potentially just three wins away from a 21st Grand Slam title, which would surpass his rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Djokovic, of course, was deported ahead of the tournament he has won nine times because of his failure to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Nadal got past Mannarino in straight sets but only after saving four set points and missing with the first six of his own in a first-set tiebreak that lasted nearly 30 minutes.

He later reflected on a tiebreaker where momentum swung wildly; where chants of “Let’s go Rafa, Let’s go!” rang out; where a point was decided on a 25-shot rally with both players scrambling at full stretch; and that ended only when Nadal volleyed from deep in the court and Mannarino’s reflex reply skewed wide.

“Well, you know, I played a couple,” he said, smiling, in reference to long tiebreakers. “But, yeah, (it was) a crazy one, chances for both. And, yeah, lucky to win that tiebreak at the end, no?

“Half of the match in the tiebreak, without a doubt.”

Shapovalov, the 22-year-old Canadian, finished off a 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over Olympic gold medalist Zverev on Margaret Court Arena less than an hour later to reach the last eight in Australia for the first time.

“It’s always an honor to go up against a guy like Rafa,” Shapovalov said. “It’s always fun. Always going to be a battle against him.”

Shapovalov had to isolate after testing positive for COVID-19 when he arrived in Australia ahead of the year’s first major, but recovered quickly to help Canada win the ATP Cup in Sydney and now reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the third time.

Zverev, meantime, had recently said there was a new “Big 3” set to replace the classic “Big 3” of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal. The German suggested Djokovic, No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and himself were set to dominate men’s tennis in 2022 and going forward.

“I think next year could be very similar to the last six months from this year,” Zverev told Eurosport Germany’s Das Gelbe vom Ball podcast.

“Before, there used to be always talk about Nadal, Federer and Djokovic – now the big titles were the Olympics, US Open, Turin and Wimbledon, and they were all won by Medvedev, Djokovic and me.

“I don’t expect it to be any different next year.”

Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini completed a Grand Slam set with a 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over 19th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta in the last match on Day 7.

The seventh-seeded Berrettini has now reached the quarterfinals at all four of the tennis majors and will next play No. 17 Gael Monfils, who beat Miomir Kecmanovic 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-3. Kecmanovic was initially scheduled to play Djokovic in the first round of the tournament, but will be returning home with $237,000 in prize money after his run to the fourth round.

The 35-year-old Monfils made it to the last eight for the second time in 17 trips to Melbourne Park.

Per bookmaker.eu, Medvedev (+180) was the favorite entering the tournament, followed by Zverev (+335) and 6 Nadal (+950).

(The AP contributed reporting.)