Day-9 of the 2022 Australian Open Tournament delivered on exceptional tennis in the first set of Quarter-Finals. While the woman’s draw was more concise, the men had to dig deep in the Rod Laver Arena.
Australian Open Day-9
Madison Keys was the first American to go through to the semis, and in doing so also served up a massive upset. The World No. 51 cut down fourth seed Barbora Krejcikova with ease.
The first seed, Ashleigh Barty was on a whole different level. The Australian put on an exhibition in front of her home crowd, sending the Jessica Pegula packing in a little over an hour. The 21st seeded American won just two games before crashing out.
Over in the men’s draw, Rafael Nadal lost grip of his Quarter-Final bout with Denis Shapovalov. The 35-year old Nadal took the first two sets comfortably but came insanely close to packing his back. The veteran lost some of his magic during sets three and four. Luckily he managed to pull himself back together.
Matteo Berrettini also almost lost the plot in his draw against Gaël Monfils. Monfils came back from two sets down to draw the match level. The Italian could however hold out for a history-making win in the early morning hours in Melbourne.
A breeze for the ladies
Madison Keys continued an impressive run of wins to claim the first semi-final spot at Melbourne Park. Keys, a former world No. 5 has dropped just the one set during #AusOpen2022. That coming in the Third Round against China’s Wang Qiang.
Barbora Krejcikova was expected to end the Illinoisan’s streak. However, the Czech became the 10th consecutive victim of Keys, losing 6-3 and 6-2.
The 26-year old is just a couple of wins away from an evasive first Grand Slam title. And don’t discount her just yet, her form is on the up.
“It means a lot. Last year was really hard and I did really everything I could with my team in the off-season to re-set,” said an emotional Keys after her win.
“I’m really proud of myself.”
Maddy's moment 🙌 @Madison_Keys returns to the #AusOpen semifinals for the first time since 2015 by defeating Barbora Krejcikova 6-3 6-2.#AO2022
🎥 : @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/rhfAPTUne8— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2022
Keys reached her maiden semi-final in 2015, at the age of 20 at the Australian Open. She went on to lose to compatriot, and eventual champion Serena Williams.
The first penultimate battle in the Woman’s draw will be a huge one. Although the local will be the favourite to progress.
Australian hopeful, Ashleigh Barty has her sights set on a first Grand Slam title in her backyard. She can become the first Australian Woman’s player to win the Australian Open since Chris O’Neil in 1978. Now, on her ninth time of trying, Barty looks poised to go all the way. She progressed to the last-four with a ruthless 6-2 and 6-0 win over Jessica Pegula.
“That was solid tonight,” Said the World No. 1.
“I was able to serve and find a lot of forehands in the centre of the court and I was happy to take the game on; be aggressive off my forehand, not worry if I miss a couple
as long as I’m doing the right thing, and I felt like I was able to do that the whole match.”
🇦🇺 CLINICAL 🇦🇺@ashbarty defeats Jessica Pegula 6-2 6-0 in 63 minutes to advance to another #AusOpen semifinal.#AO2022 pic.twitter.com/8YoG2KKdXK
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2022
A battle amongst the boys
In the Men’s draw at the 2022 Australian Open tournament, the two quarter-finals played out like carbon copies of each other. Two five-set thrillers producing scintillating Tennis.
The Spanish Giant, Rafael Nadal had a huge quarter-final draw today. He had to get past Canadian Denis Shapovalov. While the sixth seed started the match oozing class, he let Shapovalov back into the game. Luckily Rafa channelled energy from somewhere to win 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6 and 6-3.
After finding success on the court, the one time winner of the Major Down Under confirmed that he lost his mojo through the course of the match.
“I started to feel bad honestly at the end of the second,” said Nadal.
“It was very warm out there today and the conditions were hard. I think of course all these kind of matches helps me to be in better shape, but we can’t forget that I didn’t play much tennis for such a long time, no? So under these very hard conditions, is difficult for me.”
One for the ages ✨
🇪🇸 @RafaelNadal defeats Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-4 4-6 3-6 6-3 to reach his seventh #AusOpen semifinal.#AO2022 pic.twitter.com/2vp5Enfeep
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2022
The Italian, Matteo Berrettini almost suffered the same fate as Nadal. Going two sets up before almost losing the plot completely. Although in this case, Matteo didn’t shut down, it’s Gaël Monfils who booted up. Luckily for the Italian, the Frenchman couldn’t deal the final blow.
The seventh seed, Berrettini held his nerve to claim a massive 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6 and 6-2 victory and is the first Italian man to reach this stage of the Australian Open.
🇮🇹FORZA🇮🇹@MattBerrettini punches a ticket to his first #AusOpen semifinal, outlasting Monfils 6-4 6-4 3-6 3-6 6-2
🎥 @wwos • @espn • @Eurosport • @wowowtennis#AO2022• #AOTennis pic.twitter.com/NSwFj2oy1J
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2022
The disappearing Djoker
With it being a Novak-less 2022 Australian Open Tournament, the door is open for Rafael Nadal to make history. The Spaniard could become the first man to win 21 Major titles. Djokovic has been flirting with that achievement since winning at Wimbledon last year. However, his antics earlier this month could cost him the chance of becoming the most successful Men’s player. The current World No.1 might also miss out on a shot at winning Roland Garros.
It’s still a long way to go for Rafa and there’s a big semi-final on the cards.
