Australian Open: Rafael Nadal forced to work by Diego Schwartzman

Rafael Nadal had to work hard but he kept the prospect of a final rematch with Roger Federer alive.

Rafael Nadal in full flow against Diego Schwartzman on Rod Laver Arena yesterday. Picture: Michael Klein

Rafael Nadal was pounding Roger Federer’s backhand.

Virtually every serve was ­directed there. Every hooked forehand. The clock was about to strike midnight at Melbourne Park when Federer’s less reliable stroke finally collapsed and the relentless Nadal ran off with the trophy named after an Australian lefty who won Wimbledon in 1907 before he was laid to rest at St Kilda Cemetery in 1968.

Federer rates Nadal’s 7-5 3-6 7-6 (6-3) 3-6 6-2 victory in the 2009 Australian Open final as the greatest match of their peerless ­rivalry. Which is rather decent of him.

It was the first and only time Nadal got his hands on the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. It reduced Federer to tears after he won one more points — 174 to 173 — but lost the match. You’d think Federer would prefer to highlight one of the finals against Nadal he had won: the 2006 and 2007 Wimbledon deciders or last year’s classic in Melbourne. Yet when Federer was basking the other night in recollections of Rod Laver Arena, he highlighted the loss to Nadal and said: “The best we ever played against each other, I ­believe.”

Nadal was back inside this beautiful, spacious arena yesterday in an attempt to join Federer at the business end of an Open they are beginning to monster. It was this time last year that Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were bombing out and we first started thinking “hang on a sec, Nadal and Federer could conceivably get through”. They had such a dream run and the retro final became such a thriller that this year, the thought of a repeat has almost seemed too good to be true.

But it might be on again.

They’re the two form players at Melbourne Park, they’re the top two seeds, they’re the two all-time greats and the dream is still alive.

Nadal dug deep to dispatch ­Argentina’s world No 26 Diego Schwartzman 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-3 and reach the quarter-finals.

Nadal played a commanding first set but Schwartzman gave hope to 170cm tennis players everywhere by grabbing the second set tie-breaker with sledgehammer ground strokes that had depth and precision.

One of the biggest sins in tennis is to stand back and admire your shot and for one of the few times in his career, Nadal did it yesterday. Leading 6-3, 4-4, he played a drop shop so deftly that he stayed on the service line rather than crowding the net to cut off the angle. Schwartzman scampered to the ball and hit a crosscourt winner and sprinted through the remainder of the set.

The sweat-soaked Nadal out-muscled him for the rest of the twilight session. Just. All the trademark ruthlessness was required. At a change of ends in the fourth set, Nadal pleaded with a ball boy: “Please! Please! Water!”

The stadium was buzzing. The masses are entertained by the likes of Nick Kyrgios but with Nadal and Federer, it feels like there’s an extra degree of emotional investment. Nadal patted little Schwartzman on the head at the net and applauded him as he walked off the court to a standing ovation.

“He’s a great player in all aspects,” Nadal said. “That was a great battle. He’s a good friend of mine. I am a little bit tired. But I was able to keep fighting until the end. That’s the first big match I’ve played in 2018. It’s confidence for me to know I can battle for four hours after my injury in the off-season. It’s great news and I’m happy with that as we go into the finals.”

The preferred final is still a possibility but Nadal is on shakier ground. Schwartzman made him work his backside off for three hours and 50 minutes.

Federer plays Hungarian Marton Fucsovics this afternoon for a place in the quarter-finals, where Nadal has already advanced to meet Marin Cilic. Djokovic is looking dangerous, too. The six-time champion has the glint in his eye again. He meets South Korea’s Hyeon Chung in the fourth round tonight on a diet of gluten-free food and meditation.

“I’ll tell you what,” Djokovic said. “I don’t want to tell you what I gain with meditation. But I’ll tell you what I lose with it. I lose fear.”

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