Rafael Nadal battles through stomach issues to outlast Canadian Denis Shapovalov in five sets to secure his spot in a seventh Australian Open semi-final.
Rafael Nadal has survived a serious scare from Denis Shapovalov to book his spot in a seventh Australian Open semi-final.Shapovalov took issue with the chair umpire early in the contestThe Spanish legend seemed to be cruising through his quarter-final clash when he won the opening two sets, but the Canadian 14th seed hit back to extend Nadal.
The only time it did not happen since 2004 came at the 2020 US Open when Nadal and Federer did not play and Djokovic was defaulted in the fourth round for recklessly hitting a ball that struck a lineswoman. Without Federer and Djokovic at Melbourne Park, Nadal now has an opportunity to be the first man to win 21 major singles titles.
He lost his cool at the umpire early in the second, shouting "You guys are all corrupt", because he believed Nadal should have been called for a time violation.