Rafael Nadal Is Out of the Australian Open

“I have no words to describe it,” Tsitsipas said.

For Nadal, the loss prevented him from pushing ahead of Roger Federer of Switzerland in their duel to collect the most Grand Slam singles championships.

Federer has been sidelined with a knee injury since last year’s Australian Open and has missed all three Grand Slams since tennis returned in August just before the United States Open. He plans to return to competition in the coming weeks.

Nadal skipped the United States Open as well, but he returned for the French Open weeks later and won it to tie Federer with 20 singles titles.

Nadal was not the favorite in this tournament, which he has won just once, in 2009, though he has come close on other occasions, most notably in 2012, when he lost in five sets to Novak Djokovic in a match that last a record five hours, 53 minutes. The tournament is contested on fast hardcourts, which challenge Nadal far more than the slow red clay in Paris or the softer grass at Wimbledon, which inflicts less wear and tear on his body.

Nadal’s loss is likely to make Djokovic’s bid for a record ninth Australian Open singles title far easier. Djokovic plays Aslan Karatsev, ranked 114th in the world, in the semifinals on Thursday. If he wins that, he will face either Tsitsipas or Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the finals.

Nadal strained muscles in his lower back while training in Adelaide before this tournament. The injury prevented him from following his usual practice routine for nearly three weeks, but after his third round win here over Cameron Norrie of Britain he said the problem had largely been resolved. He dominated Fabio Fognini of Italy in the fourth round and had not lost a set at the tournament before facing Tsitsipas.

Tsitsipas had just one win in seven tries against Nadal coming into Wednesday night’s match. At first he tried to prevail by ending points quickly and avoiding the long rallies that Nadal uses to wear down his opponents. But Nadal kept hitting shots within inches of the lines that Tsitsipas struggled to get his racket on.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/sports/tennis/rafael-nadal-loses-australian-open.html