Australian Open: Rafael Nadal says mental strength helped him overcome Adrian Mannarino after epic first set, ‘he had me playing some fantastic tennis’
- The 20-time grand slam champion was taken to 30 points in the first set as he secured his 14th quarter-final appearance in Melbourne
- Nadal now faces a last-eight clash against Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who beat Germany’s Alexander Zverev in three sets
Rafael Nadal said it was mental strength that enabled him to survive an epic first set against France’s Adrian Mannarino and advance to his 14th Australian Open quarter-final on Sunday.
The 34-year-old Spanish star, seeking a record 21st grand slam title, endured a 30-point first-set tiebreak on his way to a 7-6 (16-14), 6-2, 6-2 victory in the fourth round at the Rod Laver Arena.
“In the first set, it’s very much that anything can happen and I was a bit lucky in the end,” Nadal said during his post-match on-court interview. “I had my chances and he had a lot of chances.
“Everybody knows how mental [strength] is the thing in this game. It was a tough one and after a crazy first so it was important to get that break in the beginning of the second. He had me playing some fantastic tennis. That first set was super difficult and I’m very happy to survive it.”
Of Nadal’s 20 grand slam titles, just one is from the Australian Open from his victory in 2009. He has reached the final in Melbourne four times, but not since 2019. The Spaniard’s next opponent is either Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, who scored an upset 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 victory over Germany’s third seed Alexander Zverev.