Rafael Nadal falls in quarterfinals of tour comeback in Brisbane،
BRISBANE, Australia — Rafael Nadal missed three match points and needed a medical timeout Friday before losing to Jordan Thompson in the quarterfinals of his return to the tournament after a year-long absence for injury.
The 22-time major winner failed to convert a match point in the 10th game of the second set and two more in the tiebreaker before Thompson, ranked 55th, rallied to win 5-7, 7- 6 (6), 6-3. at the Brisbane International.
With the Australian Open opening on January 14, Nadal's rehabilitation from his hip injury and surgery that kept him sidelined for most of 2023 will be put into focus. 'test.
The 37-year-old Spanish player opened the tournament with straight-sets wins over Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler, but was pushed for 3 hours and 25 minutes by Thompson in what was his third match in four nights.
Nadal's energy level visibly decreased at the start of the third set. After Thompson broke in the fourth game and then held for a 4-1 lead, Nadal was evaluated by the coach, apparently for his left upper leg.
He left the field for a medical timeout before returning and playing another 20 minutes.
After sending a long backhand on match point to end the longest rally of the match, Nadal circled the net to embrace Thompson. He blew a kiss and waved to the crowd as he left the court at Pat Rafter Arena around midnight.
Thompson also had the upper hand in a doubles match on Sunday, when he teamed with Max Purcell to beat Nadal and Marc Lopez, the 2016 Olympic champions.
His reward this time is a semi-final against second seed Grigor Dimitrov, a former Brisbane international champion.
Top seed Holger Rune scored a 6-2, 7-6 (6) victory over James Duckworth to set up a semifinal against Roman Safiullin, who beat Matteo Arnaldi 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka will be on opposite sides of the net in the women's semifinals almost five years after teaming up on the same court in a Fed Cup semifinal against Australia.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka secured the match when she extended her winning streak to 14 with a 6-1, 6-4 win over fifth seed Daria Kasatkina on Friday night.
She won a title in Adelaide last year before her Grand Slam breakthrough at Melbourne Park, the start of a 2023 season that also included a run to the US Open final and the French Open semi-finals and Wimbledon.
Sabalenka was totally dominant in the first set of her night match in front of a Pat Rafter Arena crowd that included actor Jude Law, pinning Kasatkina on the baseline with her deep, powerful groundstrokes.
The 25-year-old won 32 winners and lost only one service game in 1h30.
Sabalenka and Azarenka both won the Australian Open title and were both ranked No. 1. They were both born in Minsk, Belarus, around nine years apart, but have only played each other four times at elite level. Sabalenka leads her head-to-head meetings 3-1.
“She's an incredible player. I grew up watching her,” Sabalenka said of her 34-year-old compatriot. “It's going to be a big battle. I'm looking forward to it.”
Azarenka, a two-time champion at the Australian Open (2012, 2013) and Brisbane (2009, 2016), had a more difficult journey in the opening match of the day, needing 2h30 to advance 6-3 , 3-6, 7-5 against hot and bothered Jelena Ostapenko, former French Open champion.
Second-seeded Elena Rybakina only needed to play seven games in her quarterfinal match. Rybakina, who won Wimbledon in 2022 and was a finalist at last year's Australian Open, won the first set 6-1 before 11th seed Anastasia Potapova retired from her match in due to an abdominal injury.
Rybakina will next face Linda Noskova, who beat 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-3.
