Australian Open: Nadal overcomes marathon first set to seal quarter-final spot over Mannarino

Melbourne, January 23: Rafael Nadal overcame a marathon first-set tiebreaker to move into the Australian Open quarter-finals with a straight-sets win over French veteran Adrian Mannarino on Sunday (January 23).

Nadal continued on his search for a record-breaking 21st grand slam title with the 7-6 (16-14) 6-2 6-2 victory at Rod Laver Arena.

The Spaniard will next take on Canadian 14th seed Denis Shapovalov, who defeated third seed Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in the fourth round.

Nadal and Shapovalov will meet in the last eight on Tuesday (January 25). The win marks Nadal's 14th appearance in the Australian Open quarters.

Nadal has only dropped one set in his first four matches at the Australian Open but the opening set against Mannarino was epic, with the sixth seed edging his opponent after 80 minutes.

The 2009 Australian Open winner trailed 3-0 in the tie-break but fought back to level it up, eventually taking the set 16-14 with his seventh set point.

Nadal assumed complete control from that set on, dominating the second and third to win in two hours and 40 minutes.

The 35-year-old was powerful, sending down 16-7 aces, while he won 88 percent on his first serve across the match. Nadal only offered up two break points for the match.

DATA SLAM: Nadal on the right track

Nadal has dropped 38 games across his four matches at the Australian Open, making light work of Mannarino in the latter two sets which collectively took as long as the first.

The Spaniard won in Melbourne in 2009 but lost finals in 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2019, yet without Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at this year's event it looms as his best chance for years to lift the title and he seems in good health and form.

Delivering in the crucial moments.

You can always count on @rafaelnadal 😯@Kia_Worldwide · #Kia · #MovementThatInspires @wwos · @espn · @Eurosport · @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/kNyxwGO8ST
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2022