Australian Open 2019: Nadal Ends Tiafeo’s Run To Advance Into Semis

Second seed Rafael Nadal beat unseeded American Frances Tiafoe in straight sets to advance to his sixth Australian Open Semifinal.
Nadal took one hour and 47 minutes to ease past 21 year old Tiafoe 6-3 6-4 6-2 and will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last four after the 20-year-old Greek beat Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut.
Nadal said it was more than he could have hoped for in his first competitive tournament since a knee injury forced him out of last year’s US Open.
“The possibilities (of that happening) aren’t very high,” he said.
“I feel lucky to be where I am after all the things I went through, to be able to keep competing at this level.
“For me it’s very emotional to be back in the semi-finals here in Melbourne.
“I had some troubles in this event during all my career. After a while without play, to be back to that semi-final means everything to me.”
, who celebrated his 21st birthday by reaching his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final on Sunday, could not cope with Nadal’s quality and intensity.
He had spent almost 12 hours on court coming into the match – more than three hours longer than Nadal – including his four-set wins over Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson and former world number three Grigor Dimitrov.
Nadal broke again for a 5-2 lead in the third, going on to serve out victory in one hour and 47 minutes.
The Spaniard used his trademark forehand to great effect, particularly down the line, hitting 13 winners on that side.