Rafa roars

MELBOURNE, January 22 

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 on Tuesday for a place in the semifinals where he will meet another next generation player in Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Nadal’s match against Tiafoe, who turned 21 on 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-time 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 said.

Nadal was forced to retire hurt in the fifth set of last year’s quarterfinal against eventual finalist Marin Cilic, eight years after pulling out midway through his last-8 clash against Andy Murray with a knee injury. “It’s very emotional for me to be back in the semifinal in Melbourne,” Nadal said. “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. Great feelings, to be able to play here.” — Reuters

Unbelievable comeback

A ruthless Petra Kvitova trampled on the hopes of the host nation by thrashing Ashleigh Barty 6-1 6-4 to reach her first Grand Slam semifinals in five years. The twice Wimbledon champion will meet American sensation Danielle Collins on Thursday for a place in the final, less than two years after bravely returning to the tour after a traumatic attack by a knife-wielding home intruder. The weight of her achievement proved overwhelming for the tall 28-year-old, who cried during her on-court interview at Rod Laver Arena. “Really, I didn’t really imagine to be back at this great stadium with the best. And it’s great,” a teary-eyed Kvitova said. 

Incredible journey 

Danielle Collins overcame a slow start to book a maiden Grand Slam semifinal spot when the unheralded American rallied from a set down to overcome Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 2-6 7-5 6-1. The 25-year-old Collins had not won a match in her previous five Grand Slam appearances but has now made it to the last-four in her first main draw showing at Melbourne Park. “This has all been a really incredible experience. Obviously it’s my first time playing main draw here in Australia, so I think that’s a little bit new to me,” Collins said, after playing her first time at the Rod Laver Arena. “This time last year I was playing a Challenger. But, yeah, I think I’m really embracing it.”

Odyssey continues

Greek sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas added another thrilling chapter to his Australian Open odyssey on Tuesday, the 20-year-old felling Roberto Bautista Agut 7-5 4-6 6-4 7-6(2) to claim a maiden Grand Slam semifinal for the Mediterranean nation. Having already floored Roger Federer to send shockwaves through the tournament, the 14th seed can create further tennis history for his country when he plays for a spot in the final against Rafa Nadal. With a victory that triggered a chorus of singing from Greek fans in the terraces, Tsitsipas became the youngest semifinalist at Melbourne Park since American Andy Roddick, also 20, at the 2003 tournament. “Feels like a fairytale almost,” he said in on-court interview. “I’m living a dream, living what I worked so hard for. I feel emotional but not much. I told people before that Grand Slam semis was my goal. When I was answering that question I thought I was crazy. But no, it’s real. It happened.” 

20 year-old Tsitsipas becomes the youngest semifinalist at Melbourne Park since American Andy Roddick in 2003

Paes-Stosur crash out

Veteran Leander Paes and his partner Samantha Stosur suffered a second-round defeat in the mixed doubles event, ending India’s campaign at the Australian Open. The unseeded pair of Paes and Stosur won the first set  6-4 against Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Robert Farah but conceded the second set with the same scoreline before losing the match tiebreak 10-8.

Day 10 schedule (quarterfinals) 

Women: 4-Naomi Osaka (Japan) vs 6-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine); 16-Serena Williams (US) vs 7-Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) 

Men: 16-Milos Raonic (Canada) vs 28-Lucas Pouille (France); 1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) vs 8-Kei Nishikori (Japan)

Clash of the Day

Djokovic 
Age: 31
ATP Ranking: 1
Grand Slam titles: 14 
2018 Australian Open performance: Fourth round 
Best Australian Open performance: Winner (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016) 
Djokovic breezed through the first three rounds but was pushed to the limit by Daniil Medvedev in the last round before prevailing in four sets. The top seed has not lost to Nishikori in their last 15 meetings but will be wary of his battling opponent who beat him in the semifinals of the 2014 US Open.

Nishikori
Age: 29
ATP Ranking: 9
Grand Slam titles: 0
2018 Australian Open performance: Did not play 
Best Australian Open performance: Quarterfinals (2012, 2015, 2016, 2019) 
Nishikori has played four matches so far but he has been on court for 13 hours and 47 minutes thanks to three five-setters. The Japanese was running on fumes against Pablo Carreno Busta in an exhausting fourth-round clash before prevailing in the tiebreak and will need to recover quickly. 

Djokovic concerned about ‘Big Brother’ cameras

Novak Djokovic has expressed concern about “Big Brother” surveillance cameras that capture behind-the-scenes footage of players at the Australian Open, making the season-opening Grand Slam resemble a reality television show. The cameras dotted around Melbourne Park, which show players walking the corridors and making their way to the courts, were introduced this year. Many of the candid clips have gone viral, with social media users amused when security guards asked players such as Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova for identification. Others have been more personal, including Croatian 31st seed Petra Martic slumping to the floor and breaking down in tears after her third-round loss. Djokovic, who is chairman of the men’s player council, said he had privacy concerns, particularly for women players who were moving between the recovery centre and the locker rooms. “...we live in Big Brother society. I guess you just have to accept it,” he said. Federer said tennis stars were now used to having their every moment captured on camera, although he did not appreciate intrusions on his down time. AFP

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It’s very emotional for me to be back in the semifinal in Melbourne. To be back to the semifinal without playing for a while means everything to me. — Rafa Nadal 

I knew he was going to bring crazy intensity, I knew the ball was going to be jumping. I knew if he got hold of a forehand, it was going to be barbecued chicken. But point in, point out, I’ve never seen someone so locked in. — Frances Tiafoe