Melbourne: Rafa 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 Tuesday for a place in the semi-finals where he will meet another next generation player in Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Nadal’s match against Tiafoe, who turned 21 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.
The 17-times Grand Slam champion broke Tiafoe’s first service game in each set and with a second break in the third set wrapped up victory in an hour and 47 minutes.
“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. “It’s very emotional for me to be back in the semi-final in Melbourne,” Nadal said on court. “I had some troubles in this event all my career.
“To be back to the semifinal without playing for a while means everything to me. So I just want to say thank you very, very much everybody. Great feelings, to be able to play in this court is always so special. And of course I’m very happy with the way I played tonight.”
Nadal is leaving no stone unturned in Melbourne to win another major and has brought a remodelled serve aimed at generating more pace which once again worked effectively Tuesday.
His serve was only threatened in the fourth game of the second set but the Spaniard, who is bidding to become the first man in the Open Era, and only the third man ever, to win each of the four Grand Slams twice, saved both breakpoints he faced.