Even before taking his first serve at this edition of the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal knew that the door is open in front of him to break the record for the most singles titles in the Grand Slam tournaments. So far, the Spaniard has not allowed that door to close. On Friday, he meets Matteo Berrettini in one of the Australian Open semifinals. If he wins that match and the next, he will win his 21st major title. He is currently tied at 20 with Roger Federer, who is recovering from right knee surgery, and Novak Djokovic, who was deported from Australia on the eve of the tournament after starring in an 11-day soap opera over the revocation of his visa to have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. In the other semifinal, Daniil Medvedev faces Stefanos Tsitsipas. It will be a repeat of their 2021 semi-final at Melbourne Park. The Russian Medvedev won that match and fell to Djokovic in the final. After Nadal’s effortless five-set win over Denis Shapovalov on Tuesday, the Mallorcan seemed to shake off some of the pressure he’s under to win that 21st major. “I don’t think my happiness, my future happiness, is going to depend on whether I win one Grand Slam more than the others or whether the others win more than me,” he said. “For me, the fact that we are tied at 20 only tells me that we share an amazing part of the history of our sport. For me, it’s a real honor to be a part of this.” Nadal had glowing words about Berrettini. He considered that, like Tsitsipas and Shapovalov, he figures in a group that could replace the Big Three who have dominated tennis for almost 20 years. “Matteo is one of the best players in the world,” Nadal said. “I need to play 100 percent, at my highest level, if I want to have a chance to fight, to compete and to be in the final.” The two rivals have met only once — Nadal defeated the Italian in straight sets during the US Open semifinals. But Berrettini has matured since then. He lost the Wimbledon final last year to Djokovic in four sets. Nadal is a decade older than Berrettini —35 years against 25. Medvedev, current US Open champion, will have to overcome fatigue after fighting a duel of 4 hours and 42 minutes, which required five sets to resolve and which included a comeback. In five sets, the Russian beat Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday. Djokovic was on Medvedev’s mind during that match. Auger-Aliassime won the first two sets and had match point in the fourth. Interviewed on the court, Medvedev said that at the height of his vicissitude he asked himself, “What would Novak do?”
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