Tennis – Nadal wasted a massive advantage over Stefanos Tsitsipas in Melbourne 2021.
Rafael Nadal claimed his second Australian Open crown this year, the first in 13 years. Twelve months ago, the Spaniard experienced a heavy loss at Melbourne Park, falling to Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4, 7-5 in four hours and five minutes in the quarter-final.
Nadal injured his back in Adelaide a few weeks earlier and did not know what to expect in Melbourne. Still, he defeated four rivals in straight sets to advance into the last eight, where he opened a massive gap against Tsitsipas.
Nonetheless, the Greek survived the third set’s tie break, gathered momentum and overpowered the Spaniard to deliver one of Rafa’s most brutal losses at Majors! Nadal held everything under control in the opening two sets and had the opportunity to seal the deal in the third before spraying some loose errors in the tie break.
Stefanos was already playing well after set number two, gathering a boost in that third and never looking back in his service games. The pressure was on Rafa in sets four and five, and he could not endure it after losing the drive.
He got broken once in each to propel the young Greek over the finish line and hit the exit door. It was only the third defeat for the great Spaniard after taking two sets to love lead, and the second at Majors!
Rafael Nadal lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets in Melbourne 2021.
Rafa lost the pace a bit with his groundstrokes from the fourth set.
Simultaneously, Stefanos threw everything he had on his opponent, delivering one good hold after another and completing his most remarkable career victory. Sharing his thoughts about the encounter, Mats Wilander believed Nadal would be fine in a couple of weeks, knowing he was playing on a high level and waiting for the clay swing with positive vibes.
The Swede noted Nadal’s lousy luck while trying to seal the deal in straight sets, playing some loose shots and losing ground to suffer a tough defeat. “Rafa will probably be off for two or three weeks. He has not been able to win the Australian Open after that lone 2009 crown, and I think he will shrug it off and realize, ‘maybe I was not strong enough physically to keep this level up.’
He was going for big shots; that’s not him, and it did not work. Rafa will return to the practice court, hit some balls and realize that he is at the same level as the last year’s Roland Garros. He played great against Tsitsipas, and it was bad luck that he could not cross the finish line first,” Mats Wilander said.
