Rafael Nadal is through to his sixth Australian Open final after putting on an epic performance on Rod Laver Arena this afternoon.
The Spanish tennis star won the first two sets against seventh seed Matteo Berrettini, before the Italian clawed his way back into the game in the third.
Nadal then snapped back into play, taking out the fourth set to claim victory 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
It comes 13 years after he won the tournament in 2009.
Speaking post-match, Nadal told Nine he didn’t think he would be in this position again.
“It means a lot to be in the final again here,” he said.
“I never thought about another chance in 2022 so I’ll just try to enjoy the victory of today and then after tomorrow I will try my best.”
It’s a sixth #AusOpen final for @RafaelNadal ?
He outlasts Matteo Berrettini in a 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3 thriller ? #AusOpen · #AO2022
?: @wwos · @espn · @eurosport · @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/UIbtfGbKvq— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2022
The 35-year-old admitted Berrettini put up a tough fight.
“I started the match playing great, first two sets have been one of the best so far since long time,” Nadal said.
“Then I know how good is Matteo, he’s a very solid player, very dangerous.
“In the third, I know at some point he’s gonna go for the shots and then I think I didn’t play a good game with my serve in the 4-3.
“But he played some great shots, a passing shot down the line, unbelievable… Then yeah, we need to suffer and we need to fight in the fourth again and that’s the only way to be where I am today.”
Nadal will take on the winner of tonight’s other semi-final featuring Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday’s showdown.
Putting the ‘happy’ in the ‘happy Slam’ ?@RafaelNadal · #AusOpen · #AO2022 pic.twitter.com/brg988BnlS
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2022
