Rafael Nadal reached the fourth round of the Australian Open but not before surviving a scare against rising talent Alexander Zverev in a thrilling five-setter that lasted four hours and five minutes. The 19-year old German began strongly by taking the first set 6-4 before Rafa came back to take the second set 6-3. However, Zverev continued his relentless attack and managed to take the third set via a tiebreak.
At this point, it seemed that Nadal may have to leave the tournament early but the Spaniard is not one to back down. He held his nerve and took the fourth set to keep himself in the match. During the final set, Zverev got cramps and as a result, could not play at his best as Nadal took the set as well as the match.
The Spaniard will now take on sixth seed Gael Monfils who beat Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets.
The Nadal-Zverev match was one of the best matches of the tournament so far and had lots and lots of exciting action. Here’s a list of five things we have learned during this match.
#5 When push came to shove, Nadal fired
Rafael Nadal has been known to bounce back from do-or-die scenarios and yesterday’s match was one of those numerous occasions. Zverev began the match brilliantly as he took the first set. However, Nadal bounced back to take the second set 6-3. The third set was a pretty exciting contest with both players playing brilliantly but Zverev’s aggressive play and his backhand eventually won him the third set via a tiebreak.
At this point, all seemed lost for Nadal and Zverev was only a set away from reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. However, he held his nerve and rebounded strongly by taking the fourth set with an ace and levelling the match.
Nadal eventually took the final set as well to complete a remarkable comeback and enter the fourth round of the tournament. The way Nadal played during the fourth and fifth set of that match just shows how difficult it is to take him down.
#4 Lack of experience denies Zverev a glorious win
Alexander Zverev has been touted by many to be a future World No.1 through his promising performances last year and he almost created a huge upset yesterday before Nadal came back from one set to two down to win the match in five sets. There’s no denying that Zverev put up a good fight but his youth and lack of experience was exposed on certain occasions in the match.
One such shortcoming were his volleys which lacked the killer instinct and were not properly executed on a few occasions. During the final set, Zverev suffered from cramps and as a result, couldn’t play the way he would have wanted to. With age on his side, Zverev still has plenty of time to mature his game and work on his health and fitness.
#3 Alexander Zverev: Future of tennis
Alexander Zverev bowed out of the Australian Open after going down to Rafael Nadal in a gruelling five-setter. At one point of time, the German was leading two sets to one but Nadal fought back and won the fourth and fifth sets to enter the fourth round of the tournament.
Zverev may have lost the match but the kind of performances he has shown in the Australian Open and in 2017 so far, that’s enough to suggest that this 19-year old lad has a great chance of reaching the Top 10 this year. Zverev’s serve and backhand have been his biggest weapons which really troubled Nadal on a number of occasions.
#2 The King of Clay has still got it in him
Last year, Rafael Nadal had a very inconsistent season which was hampered by injuries. After a decent clay-court season, Nadal had to withdraw from the Wimbledon to recover from his wrist injury.
On his return, many expected him to be back to his very best. However, a semi-final finish at the Rio Olympics was followed by a fourth-round exit at the US Open and inconsistent performances at the Asian swing propelled Nadal to pull out of the remainder of the ATP World Tour.
Nadal has returned to the Tour and so far, he looks to be in good form at the Australian Open. Even though he was pushed to five sets by Alexander Zverev, the Spaniard has shown no signs of slowing down.
His performance against Zverev gave us the hint that Nadal still has a lot of tennis left in him and provided he maintains his form, he might even win a second Australian Open title.
#1 Federer-Nadal final on the cards
It’s been nearly six years when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal last met in a Grand Slam final and two years since they last met in a Grand Slam match. Both Federer and Nadal had their respective World Tours hampered by injuries last year and both have returned to the sport this year after taking long injury breaks.
Both of them have reached the fourth round of the Australian Open with wins over tough opponents in the third round. While Federer had a cakewalk against 10th seed Tomas Berdych, Rafa won a gruelling five-setter against rising talent Alexander Zverev.
Federer and Nadal have been in good form at the Australian Open so far and haven’t shown any signs of slowing down. Both of them are in either half of the draw which means that their paths will not cross before the final.
With Murray and Djokovic out of the title race, this may be the best chance for a Federer-Nadal final to take place and given the kind of tennis both players have been playing so far, the chances are pretty good.
Zverev, on the other hand, is only 19 and has enormous talent and he will be expected to improve with time provided which, he would definitely become the World No.1 in a few years.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
