"I don’t think there’s any way you aren't going to give great champions some slack" - Mats Wilander defends Rafael Nadal over favoritism claims

Tennis great Mats Wilander has defended Rafael Nadal after Denis Shapovalov claimed the Spaniard received preferential treatment during their Australian Open clash on Tuesday. The 20-time Major champion defeated Shapovalov 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 in four hours and eight minutes in the quarterfinals of the Melbourne Slam.

During the second set of the match, Shapovalov accused chair umpire Carlos Bernardes of being "corrupt" for not giving the 2009 champion a time violation. The Canadian felt the 35-year-old was taking too much time between points without being penalized.

In his post-match press conference, the World No. 14 admitted his choice of words had been a mistake, but insisted the 20-time Slam winner had always been given too much leeway by officials. The Spaniard denied the accusations, insisting he had always played by the same set of rules as every other player.

Speaking on Eurosport, Wilander conceded that if legends like Nadal receive special treatment, it's because he deserves it.

"Rafa plays on Rod Laver Arena because he deserves to be there," said Wilander. "And I don’t think there’s any way you are not going to give the great champions some slack at some points. It’s part of our sport a bit, it’s not fair."

The seven-time Grand Slam winner also argued Shapovalov should be better prepared to deal with events during matches which may frustrate him.

"Rafa deserves a bit of that if it’s not fair, but Denis will realise that you need a bit more time," Wilander added. "Denis most probably needs to go onto the court and think - ‘what will not make me irritated? That’s right, Rafa taking too long, that cannot interfere with my brain’."

"I don’t think the match was decided by this" - Tim Henman on Denis Shapovalov saying Rafael Nadal gets special treatment

Rafael Nadal and Denis Shapovalov talk during theit 2022 Australian Open quarterfinal

Speaking to Eurosport, Tim Henman also gave his thoughts on Denis Shapovalov's claims that umpires are overly lenient to Rafael Nadal. The former World No. 4 declared it was not a decisive factor in the match and suggested the Canadian's comments were partly due to frustration.

"At the end of the day I don’t think the match was decided by this, it was about what was happening between the lines and during the points and I think it was a bit of frustration from Shapovalov," Henman said. "I think it was good he recognized he chose the wrong language. To use the word ‘corrupt’ is the wrong word and I don’t think he meant that. I think he meant he wasn’t being treated fairly."

Nadal will face World No. 7 Matteo Berrettini in the semifinals of the 2022 Australian Open on Friday. The No. 6 seed defeated the Italian in straight sets in the pair's only previous meeting - in the 2019 US Open semifinals.

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