Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal's comeback to tennis came to an end when he lost a 3-hour 25-minute marathon quarter-final to Australian Jordan Thompson at the Brisbane International on Friday. Thompson saved three match points in the second set before beating an increasingly tired Nadal 5-7, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 in a grueling encounter that ended just before midnight at Pat Rafter Arena. Thompson secured a semi-final win against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, while at the same time throwing a spanner in the works for Nadal's preparations for the Australian Open. Nadal said he had plenty of chances to win, but he just couldn't take them. “I think he played a good game. For me it wasn't the best game, I had a lot of chances to win,” he said.
“I have to accept that. After a year (not playing) that is normal.”
Playing his first tournament after almost 12 months out of the sport due to injury, Nadal looked on his way to a straight-set victory after claiming the first set and then taking a 6-4 lead in the tiebreak of the second set.
But an inspired Thompson refused to go away and took advantage of a number of unforced errors from the Spaniard to take the second set.
Nadal, who was broken early in the third set, took a medical timeout when trailing 1-4 after appearing to need treatment on his upper left leg.
He was able to keep going but couldn't break back and Thompson held on to the joy of the capacity crowd.
Nadal said he would not know how bad the injury was until the next day.
“A lot of things can happen in a body like my body after a year without playing tennis,” he said. “So hopefully it's just a muscle that's supercharged.”
Thompson said he was so absorbed in the game that he couldn't remember a key moment.
“I completely forgot that I had saved match points,” Thompson said.
“To beat Rafa in Brisbane in a quarter-final, and I think this is now my first semi-final on a hard court, I couldn't be happier.”
Thompson will now play second seed Dimitrov after the Bulgarian's 6-1, 6-4 victory over Australian Rinky Hijikata.
In the second semi-final, the best-seeded Dane Holger Rune will face the Russian Roman Safiullin.
Rune looked good as he defeated Australian qualifier James Duckworth 6-2, 7-6 (8/6), while unseeded Safiullin defeated Italian Matteo Arnaldi 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.
Nadal had gone into his quarter-final against Thompson in excellent spirits, after relatively easy victories in his first two rounds.
But Thompson, the world number 55, made sure the Spaniard wouldn't have it all his way, returning well throughout to put constant pressure on Nadal's serve.
Despite losing his serve for the first time this tournament at 3-3 in the opener, Nadal managed to break Thompson twice to take a tight first set within 70 minutes.
Thompson threw everything at Nadal in the second set and played fantastic tennis, but the Spaniard somehow managed to absorb the pressure.
It looked like vintage Nadal when he turned the screws in the tiebreak to open a 3-0 lead.
But Thompson leveled at 3-3 and then saved two match points when trailing 6-4 to clinch the set in 83 minutes.
Nadal started to look tired early in the third set, unlike the Australian, and it was no surprise when he was broken early in the third set, with Thompson holding on comfortably.
In the women's draw, Aryna Sabalenka issued a warning ahead of her Australian Open defense by reaching the semi-finals with a straight-sets demolition of Daria Kasatkina.
Sabalenka's 6-1, 6-4 victory was her 14th consecutive win on Australian soil, having also captured the Adelaide title last year ahead of the opening Grand Slam of the year.
The Belarusian breezed through the first set against the Russian in 32 minutes but had to fight harder in the second, breaking Kasatkina once and pinning it to win the match in 1 hour and 26 minutes.
Sabalenka will now play Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, with a repeat of the 2023 Australian Open final against second seed Elena Rybakina a possibility for Sunday's decider.
Former Grand Slam champions Azarenka and Rybakina reached the semi-finals in contrasting fashion.
Two-time Australian Open winner Azarenka took 2 hours and 30 minutes to finally beat third-seeded Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in the first match at Pat Rafter Arena.
Rybakina was then handed a spot in the last four when her Russian opponent Anastasia Potapova withdrew with stomach problems after losing the first set 6-1.
Rybakina will next face Linda Noskova after the Czech player defeated 16-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-3.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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