MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal drew within two wins of a record 21st Grand Slam title on Tuesday after claiming a five-set thriller against Denis Shapovalov to grind into the Australian Open semi-finals for a seventh time.
On a steamy afternoon at Rod Laver Arena, Nadal suffered a huge scare as Shapovalov roared back from two sets down but the warrior Spaniard found another gear in the decider to prevail 6-3 6-4 4-6 3-6 6-3.
Nadal narrowly avoided a repeat of last year’s quarter-final in Melbourne when he was sent packing by Stefanos Tsitsipas after taking a two-set lead.
Two months ago, the sixth seed wondered whether his career was finished as he struggled to come back from a foot injury, but he will now prepare for his 36th Grand Slam semi-final against Matteo Berrettini or Gael Monfils.
Alarm bells were ringing for the record bid when the 35-year-old dropped the fourth set and exited the court for a medical time-out.
But he returned to break Shapovalov in the second game of the decider and kept the Canadian at arm’s length to the finish.
After pushing a volley wide on match-point, Shapovalov turned and smashed his racket into the court in anguish.
A beaming Nadal spread his arms wide, leant back and pointed to the corners of the stadium, soaking up one of his finer wins at Melbourne Park.