Rafael Nadal wins a bad-tempered five-set Australian Open quarter-final, with Denis Shapovalov telling the umpire ‘you’re all CORRUPT’ and smashing his racket in a fury over his rival’s slow play
- Rafael Nadal has booked his place in the semi-finals of the Australian Open
- The Spaniard came through a five-set epic against Canada’s Denis Shapovalov
- Nadal won the first two sets 6-3, 6-4 before Shapovalov came back to level
- However Nadal showed his class in the fifth set to win it 6-3 and progress
- Shapovalov savaged the referees and called them ‘corrupt’ earlier in the match
Rafael Nadal has booked his place in the semi-finals of the Australian Open after winning an ill-tempered five-set epic against Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, who accused the umpire of corruption.
Nadal, looking for just his second title in Melbourne after winning the tournament in 2009, raced into a two-set lead on Rod Laver Arena after winning the opening sets 6-3, 6-4.
But he was pegged back by Shapovalov, who won the third and fourth sets 6-4, 6-3 to take it a decider. However, Nadal booked his spot in the final four by claiming the decisive fifth 6-3.
Rafael Nadal is into the semi-finals of the Australian Open after beating Denis Shapovalov
Nadal raced into a 2-0 lead before being pegged back by the Canadian and then winning a fifth
Nadal was not considered among the big favourites at the start of the fortnight having not competed for half of last season because of a foot problem.
But he played himself into that position, dropping only one set to Karen Khachanov during the first four rounds and raising hopes that he could win a record 21st grand slam title.
Shapovalov pulled off one of the biggest victories of his career over third seed Alexander Zverev in the fourth round to reach his third slam quarter-final and first in Melbourne.
The 22-year-old was unable to find his best form in the opening set, though, and then showed his frustration by getting into a row with umpire Carlos Bernardes over the time Nadal was taking between points.
After telling Bernardes to ‘code him’, Shapovalov asked ‘are you kidding me?’ when the umpire refused to cave into his demands.
Just a game later, Shapovalov was clearly still irked by the incident and appeared to be making glances to the umpire as Nadal prepared to start serving.
Shapovalov savaged the referees and called them ‘corrupt’ earlier on Rod Laver Arena
The Canadian appeared to argue that Nadal should have been punished for delaying his serve
SHAPOVALOV’S UMPIRE ROWS
Shapovalov: ‘You started the clock like 45 seconds ago and he is not ready to play. You started the clock like so long ago and he is still not ready to play. You’ve gotta code him.’
Umpire: ‘Yeah. I code him now, now you are not ready to play?’
Shapovalov: ‘Code him!’
Umpire: ‘For what?’
Shapovalov: ‘He’s not ready to play!’
Umpire: ‘Yeah but you are not ready to play, because you came to talk to me.’
Shapovalov: ‘Are you kidding me?’
Umpire: ‘I’m not kidding you.’
Shapovalov: ‘You guys are all corrupt! You guys are all corrupt!’
Umpire: ‘What do you want?’
Shapovalov: ‘What are you looking at?’
Umpire: ‘You were looking at me; there were eight seconds to play. What do you want? Why are you looking at me like I need to watch the … you have the shot clock. So this … it disturbs me.’
Bernardes halted play and asked the Canadian ‘what do you want?’ before telling Shapovalov to focus on the shot clock and that his looks ‘disturb me’.
The two players then met at the net to discuss Shapovalov’s frustrations before returning to start the point.
It did not distract Nadal, who moved into a two-set lead, but Shapovalov began to turn the tide in the third set and clinched it with a backhand winner after his opponent was given a time violation.
Nadal began to look weary and troubled in the fourth set, leaving the court for six and a half minutes at the end of it for a medical examination and a toilet break.
Two double faults – he served 11 during the match – put him in trouble in the opening game of the decider but Shapovalov could not take advantage and then dropped serve himself to give Nadal a lifeline.
Nadal called the trainer for a stomach issue during the fourth set and needed an examination
But Nadal recovered to halt his opponent’s momentum and clinch the decisive fifth set
When a final backhand volley drifted wide, Shapovalov smashed his racket angrily on the court
Nadal, who called the trainer for an abdominal issue during the fourth set, lost from two sets up against Stefanos Tsitsipas at the same stage last year but he made sure there was no repeat.
When a final backhand volley drifted wide, Shapovalov smashed his racket angrily on the court while Nadal celebrated reaching his 36th grand slam semi-final.
A relieved Nadal said: ‘I was completely destroyed. Very tough day, very warm. I didn’t practise for it.
‘I was a little bit lucky at the beginning of the fifth. At the beginning of the match I was playing great but I know how difficult it is to play against a player like Denis.
‘For me it’s amazing to be in the semi-finals.’
Importantly, the 35-year-old now has two days off to try to recover physically before his semi-final against either Matteo Berrettini or Gael Monfils.
‘I started to feel not very well in my stomach,’ said the sixth seed. ‘I think I was lucky that I was serving great in the fifth. It was a great test and I really believe I’m going to be ready for that semi-final.’
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