By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer
MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal finally got the better of a crazy, long tiebreaker and knew he’d won half the battle.
After saving four set points and missing with the first six of his own, Nadal finally clinched a tiebreaker that lasted 28 minutes and 40 seconds to set himself on course to secure a spot in the Australian Open quarterfinals for a 14th time.
After his 7-6 (14), 6-2, 6-2 fourth-round victory over fellow left-hander Adrian Mannarino on Sunday (Saturday night PT), Nadal is potentially just three wins away from a men’s record 21st Grand Slam singles title.
He later reflected on a tiebreaker where momentum swung wildly; where chants of “Let’s go Rafa, Let’s go!” rang out; where a point was decided on a 25-shot rally with both players scrambling at full stretch; and that ended only when Nadal volleyed from deep in the court and Mannarino’s reflex reply skewed wide.
“Well, you know, I played a couple,” he said, smiling, in reference to long tiebreakers. “But, yeah, (it was) a crazy one, chances for both. And, yeah, lucky to win that tiebreak at the end, no?
“Half of the match in the tiebreak, without a doubt.”
Nadal will next play Denis Shapovalov, the 22-year-old Canadian who finished off a 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Olympic gold medalist Alexander Zverev on Margaret Court Arena less than an hour later to reach the last eight in Australia for the first time.
Women’s No. 1 Ash Barty advanced to the quarterfinals for the fourth straight year when she beat 20-year-old American Amanda Anisimova, 6-4, 6-3.
Barty is aiming to be the first Australian woman to win her home Grand Slam title since 1978 and has gone through the first four rounds without dropping a set.
Anisimova, coming off a third-round upset over defending champion Naomi Osaka, broke Barty’s opening service game of the second set – a first for the tournament – but the two-time major winner responded by taking six of the last seven games.
Barty beat Anisimova in the semifinals of the French Open in 2019 on the way to winning her first Grand Slam title and won her second at Wimbledon last year.
Asked if beating Anisimova again is a good omen, Barty said “Let’s wait and see.”
She’ll next play No. 21-seeded Jessica Pegula, who beat fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari, 7-6 (0), 6-3.
French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova breezed to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka and is into the last eight for the third time in four Grand Slam events.
She’ll next play Madison Keys, who reached the semifinals in Australia in 2015 and was runner-up at the 2017 US Open.
Keys overpowered eighth-seeded Paula Badosa, 6-3, 6-1, in the first of the fourth-round matches on Day 7 at Rod Laver Arena.
The 26-year-old American, who beat 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round, hit 26 winners and made only 18 unforced errors against Badosa to continue her unbeaten start to 2022. She claimed her sixth career title at a tuneup tournament in Adelaide last week.
Nadal is now tied with John Newcombe in the second spot on the all-time list for most quarterfinals in Australia, one behind Roger Federer’s 15.
It’s also the Spaniard’s 45th time into the last eight at a Grand Slam tournament, which is third on the all-time list behind Federer (58) and Novak Djokovic (51).
He shares the men’s record of 20 major titles with Federer and Djokovic. But he’s the only one of the trio playing in this tournament. Nine-time Australian Open champion Djokovic was deported on the eve of the tournament because he didn’t meet Australia’s strict COVID-19 vaccination rules. Federer is recovering from injury.
Mannarino, who didn’t finish his 4-hour, 38-minute, four-set, third-round win over No. 18 Aslan Karatsev until after 2 a.m. on Saturday and appeared to be hampered by an abdominal or upper leg injury, threw everything at Nadal in the opening set on Rod Laver Arena, where temperatures approached 91 degrees.
“After first set I couldn’t really fight against Rafa,” said the 33-year-old No. 69-ranked Mannarino. “You know, he was playing too well for me not to be 100%. The second and third set just went all the way for Rafa, so that’s it.”
The first set lasted 85 minutes, including the ’breaker, but after getting early breaks in the second and third sets the match was over in 2 hours, 40 minutes.
“I’m very happy I survived that first set, without a doubt,” said the sixth-seeded Nadal, who saved one of the two breakpoint chances he faced and converted five of 17. “That crazy first set was so important.”
The No. 14-seeded Shapovalov spent almost 11 hours on court through the first three rounds, winning twice in four sets and once in five, and was surprised by the relative speed of his 2-hour, 21-minute win over Zverev.
“Probably the one I least expected to finish in three,” he said. “Definitely happy with where the game is at. I played pretty smart today.”
Shapovalov reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals in 2020 and was a semifinalist at Wimbledon last year, his career-best run to date at a major. He’ll have to step it up against one of the greatest in the game to again reach the final four.
“It’s always an honor to go up against a guy like Rafa,” Shapovalov said. “It’s always fun. Always going to be a battle against him.”
PEGULA’S SPORTS ALIGN
The timing for Pegula’s run to the quarterfinals has even accommodated another of her sporting passions.
Pegula has been able to plan preparation around watching the Buffalo Bills in their NFL divisional playoff game in Kansas City.
The Bills, owned by Pegula’s parents, play the Chiefs mid-morning local time in Melbourne, and she’ll settle in with her sister to watch it on TV.
“It will be easy. I’ll just wake up tomorrow, get to watch the game, then practice afterwards,” the 27-year-old said. “My sister is here, but the rest of my family is in Kansas City. It’s cool to kind of see them in another big situation, then me in a big situation today.
“It’s a cool thing to look forward to. It’s fun to get the fans involved because there’s not a lot of tennis in Buffalo. It’s nice that everyone is fired up about me winning and fired up about the game.”
Pegula even signed the courtside TV camera lens after her third-round singles victory with a note that read: “Bills you’re next.”
PENG SHUAI
Tennis Australia has backed a decision by police and security officers to demand a spectator remove a shirt featuring a message of support for Chinese player Peng Shuai.
Video emerged on Sunday morning of a woman being intercepted at Melbourne Park wearing the shirt with an image of Peng on the front and the message “Where is Peng Shuai?” on the back.
“Under our ticket conditions of entry we don’t allow clothing, banners or signs that are commercial or political,” Tennis Australia said in a statement.
“Peng Shuai’s safety is our primary concern. We continue to work with the WTA and global tennis community to seek more clarity on her situation and will do everything we can to ensure her wellbeing.”
A GoFundMe page seeking support to distribute Peng Shuai shirts at the Australian Open had raised thousands of dollars within 24 hours on the weekend.
The Women’s Tennis Association has taken a strong stand on the issue saying it will not play any tournaments in China this year.
Players’ Council member and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka said the organization is still yet to hear from Peng and her welfare.
NO COMMENT
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has rejected reports that Djokovic was preparing to sue the Australian government.
Tiley, also the chief executive of Tennis Australia, blamed miscommunication and changing circumstances in the COVID-19 pandemic for Djokovic being deported on the eve of the tournament after his visa was canceled because he wasn’t vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Tiley has had interviews with the tournament’s host TV broadcaster and with the national broadcaster, the ABC, but he hasn’t spoken with the mainstream media covering the championships.
Djokovic lost a legal challenge after an 11-day saga that started when his medical exemption to Australia’s strict COVID-19 quarantine requirements was rejected by the Australian Border Force when he flew into Melbourne.
SERVE-VOLLEY
American Maxime Cressy is a throwback to a bygone tennis era with a potent serve-and-volley style that has powered him into the Australian Open fourth round.
That intimidating presence will need to be perfectly calibrated for the supreme test against U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev whose skill and, in particular, steadiness carried him to Grand Slam glory.
But Cressy, who couldn’t even earn a place on the UCLA tennis team in his freshman year, plans to live or die by his attacking verve against the Russian second seed after pounding down an impressive 28 aces in the third round.
“Yeah, my mindset is to go for it and that’s my game,” the 24-year-old said. “I feel like on the good days it’s very difficult to beat that style of play going for both serves. The more I do it, the more natural it is and I feel like, with that game style, it’s very tough for the opponents to have any control.
“I’ve been developing that game-style for three, four years and it’s paying off, especially on the good days it’s very, very efficient.”
Cressy avoids being distracted by referring to a notebook when seated at the change of ends.
“It’s one of my routines to be in the present in those kind of conditions with the crowd and everything, the mind can wander really easily,” Cressy said. “So I try not to look at what the opponent does because, especially when I’m very efficient on my serve and volley, they try different things to get in my head and, if I focus on them, it disrupts my game.”
The quirky Medvedev gave the impression he will be intrigued to face a net-rushing foe in their show court duel.
“I do think it’s possible to be a top player like this. But like no matter what you do, slice, serve and volley, or return good, if you want to be at the top, top, you need to make it almost perfect because other guys will try to break you and your style,” he said.