Australian Open 2019: Nadal marches to a different beat in manhandling Tsitsipas

Rafael Nadal marched to a three-set victory to arrive in his fifth championship match in Melbourne. It was a brutal display.

Rafael Nadal celebrates his emphatic win. Picture: Getty Images.

Stefanos Tsitsipas walked onto Rod Laver Arena, won the toss, elected to serve, bounced the ball a couple of times, threw it up, sliced it out wide to Rafael Nadal’s backhand, followed it to the net and clipped a forehand volley that signalled his preparedness to attack the Spanish bull.

Nadal’s double-handed backhand would be Tsitsipas’s target all night. The shot was a rather muscle-bound and restricted movement for the 17-time major champion and the avenue Tsitsipas would explore at every opportunity. The Greek 20-year-old won the first point with his unexpected rush to the forecourt but he would need to repeat the dose for the next three hours, minimum, if he was to continue his giant-killing run and reach the Australian Open final.

It was not to be. Not even close. Nadal marched to a 6-2 6-4 6-0 victory to arrive in his fifth championship match at Melbourne Park. It was a brutal display. Brilliant. Ruthless. Relentless. And it included the shot of the tournament, a curving, fizzing, dipping, spiralling forehand that went around the net instead of over it.

“Hopefully, yes,” Nadal said when asked if he could possibly play any better. “Great match, great tournament. I have played well every day. This court, this crowd has given me unbelievable energy. Since the tournament has started I have felt really well. Everybody around the world who sends me messages when I am in the low moments, it means a lot when I work out every day.”

Nadal denied his victories over youngsters Alex De Minaur, Frances Tiafoe and Tsitsipas were concerted efforts to remind the younger generation that their time had not yet come. “They are good,” he said. “They are improving. The beautiful thing about this sport is that we are able to share generations. There is a good and interesting generation coming. I wish them all a good and very successful career. Stefanos has everything to become a multi-grand slam champion. He’s brave to come to the net. I hope to face him in important rounds in the next couple of years.”

Nadal had been a surprise visitor to an indoor training facility at Melbourne Park that used cutting edge-technology to record everything from service speed to the revolutions on the ball of a heavily struck groundstroke. The number-crunchers eagerly awaited the data on how many rotations were produced by one of Nadal’s trademark topspin forehands. They were in for a surprise, however. Instead of getting the yellow orb to clear the net by the proverbial mile before it dipped sharply at the baseline, Nadal concentrated on belting his favoured shot with the sort of flat trajectory that Jimmy Connors might have approved of. One of these bullets was clocked at a phenomenal 160km/h — the sort of pace Brett Lee used to bowl at — and he used it masterful effect last night. He monstered Tsitsipas. Annihilated him.

Nadal received the added bonus of having three days of rest before the final. He would have his feet up tonight when Novak Djokovic and Lucas Pouille contested the second semi-final. Nadal gave short shrift to Tsitsipas yesterday. When they walked past each other a few hours before the match, Nadal looked straight through him. When they stood at the net before the toss of the coin, he made no eye contact whatsoever. Tsitsipas was trying to get some sort of acknowledgment. Nadal was not in the mood. Tsitsipas appeared increasingly shell-shocked as the night wore on.

Tsitsipas kept serving at Nadal’s backhand and charging the forehand. He hit volley winners, but they were miracle volleys. Facing break point at 4-4 in the second set, he again sliced to Nadal’s backhand. The return was a savagely dipping ball that Tsitsipas could not half-volley. Nadal manhandled the rest of the match to move within one victory of an 18th major triumph that would put him within reach of Roger Federer’s benchmark of 20. It was an extraordinary demonstration of tennis.