AFP, Melbourne :
Rafael Nadal marched into the final of the Australian Open (AO) to be just one match away from becoming the all-time men’s Grand Slam leader after overcoming Matteo Berrettini in their semi-final on Friday.
The 35-year-old Spanish great, seeded sixth, was too solid for the Italian seventh seed, winning 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in 2hr 55min, and will face either Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday’s final.
Nadal is level on 20 majors with his golden era rivals Novak Djokovic, who was deported on the eve of the tournament, and Roger Federer, who is absent with injury.
It gives the Spaniard an opportunity to go clear at the top and add to his lone 2009 Melbourne Park crown in his sixth Australian Open final.
“For me at the end it’s about more than all these statistics, it’s about being in the final of the Australian Open one more time. That means a lot to me,” Nadal said.
“To me it’s more important to be in the final of the Australian Open and fight to win another Australian Open than the rest of the statistics for the history of the sport.
“I just feel happy to be part of this amazing era of tennis, sharing all these things with another two players.
“That’s it. In some ways it doesn’t matter if somebody achieve one more or one less.
“I feel very lucky that I won once in my career here in 2009, but I never thought about another chance in 2022.”
