Melbourne – Tennis star Rafael Nadal has reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open for the 14th time. The Spanish world number five lived up to his role as favourite against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in a 7-6 (16-14), 6-2, 6-2 win in Melbourne.
The first set lasted 81 minutes, partly because Nadal only won the tiebreak 16:14. In the battle for a place in the semi-finals, Nadal will now meet the Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who thwarted Alexander Zverev from Hamburg in three sets.
Nadal won his only Australian Open title to date in 2009. If the 35-year-old wins the title in Melbourne, he would extend his Grand Slam title collection to 21 trophies and become the sole record winner.
One possible semi-final opponent for Nadal is Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini. The Italian’s 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 win over Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta is his best ever in Australia. Berrettini will face Frenchman Gael Monfils in the quarter-finals after he beat Serbian underdog Miomir Kecmanovic 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
