Rafael Nadal’s Australian Open preparations have ramped up a gear with the 20-time major champion closing to within one win of his first title on Australian soil in 13 years.
The Melbourne Summer Set top seed’s 6-4 7-5 triumph over Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori on Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night was not without its struggles but his 24 winners helped ensure a final showdown against US qualifier Maxime Cressy, an earlier winner over third seed Grigor Dimitrov.
Earlier on Saturday, Simona Halep earned a shot at her first tour title in 15 months after holding off Chinese qualifier Zheng Qinwen to reach the Melbourne Summer Set 1 final, where she will meet third seed Veronika Kudermetova.
Kudermetova earned a semifinal walkover after No.1 seed Naomi Osaka withdrew from the event with an injury.
Sad to withdraw due to injury from my match today, my body got a shock from playing back to back intense matches after the break I took. Thank you for all the love this past week ❤️ I’ll try to rest up and I’ll see you soon!
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) January 8, 2022
Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich and American Amanda Anisimova will square off in an all-unseeded final for the Summer Set 2 title, following contrasting victories on Rod Laver Arena.
In only his second tour match since he called time on last season in August to heal a foot injury, Nadal admitted his level was not at his sharpest against the world No.95, but that was often a result of his 22-year-old opponent’s patches of brilliance.
“For me it's an important comeback after five, six months outside the competition… For the moment things are going well. My body is holding (up) and that's the main thing, to recover 100 per cent the level of tennis,” Nadal said.
“I need days here. I need matches like today and I need to play with the best I can, possibly, even if sometimes the tennis is not perfect.”
Sit back and enjoy this Rafa special ?@RafaelNadal • #MelbourneTennis pic.twitter.com/oPQ5JnexaQ
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 8, 2022
Of Nadal’s 88 singles titles from 18 straight seasons, only one – his sole Australian Open in 2009 – was landed Down Under.
Sunday will mark his first title match at Melbourne Park since falling to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open 2019 final.
The chance to add more silverware never grew old.
“I just love what I'm doing. I always feel passionate about the sport in general. I feel a very lucky person that I can live for one of my hobbies,” Nadal said.
“I know it's not forever, it's not the job you're going to do for 50 years but I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can while I still have the chance.”
Halep gathering momentum
Markedly more polished on serve than in her two-hour, 35-minute quarterfinal struggle against Viktoria Golubic, the second seed was superior under pressure in her 6-3 6-2 victory over the heavier-hitting world No.126.
Halep claimed 73 per cent of first-serve points, 67 per cent on second serves and did not hit a double fault against Zheng.
It was a substantial improvement on her 11 doubles faults, 58 per cent of first-serve points won and 28 per cent on second-serve points against 43rd-ranked Golubic.
“It’s a great feeling to play the final in the first tournament of the year. I’m happy,” Halep said. “I think I played well today. We both played really well. It's nice to see that I can start this year pretty well because last year was not that easy.
“Some balls I felt her power. It's pretty strong and it’s not easy to return those balls. Definitely, the serve helped me a little bit more today. I relaxed my arm a little bit more than yesterday. Yesterday was terrible but today I played better.”
The Romanian bids for her 23rd career title on Sunday in what will be her first final since Cluj Napoca on home soil in November.
She has not landed the silverware since Rome in September 2020, due largely to a calf tear, which scuttled her mid-season in 2021 and saw her briefly fall outside the top 20 for the first time since 2013.
World No.112 Cressy continued his surprise serve-volleying run through the men’s draw when he disposed of Dimitrov 7-5 7-6(9).
The 24-year-old saved match points against second seed Reilly Opelka in the second round and relished the prospect of facing top seed Nadal in his first ATP final.
“I think I have the game to beat him so I'm confident," he grinned.
Cressy finished with 17 aces against the Bulgarian and admitted his game style was partly inspired by Australian dual Grand Slam champion, Pat Rafter.
First ATP final! ?
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 8, 2022
American qualifier Maxime Cressy reaches his maiden career final, defeating Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 7-6. #MelbourneTennis pic.twitter.com/yoVqiNHcbx
“So many serve-volleyers had an impact on me – Pete Sampras, Pat Rafter, (Stefan) Edberg and all these guys,” Cressy said. “I started serve-and-volleying when I was 14 and nobody has been able to convince me otherwise to stop. I'm so happy I had these idols I can be inspired (by). My goal is to make serve-and-volley huge in the next 10 years.”
Sasnovich reaffirmed her affinity for Australian hard courts on Saturday night with a 7-6(4) 2-6 6-3 triumph over Li.
The 104th-ranked qualifier was appearing in her first WTA semifinal since Sydney in 2019 and advanced to her first tour final since Brisbane in 2018.
Anisimova's earlier 6-2 6-0 victory over Kasatkina pitted her into a first final since her maiden tour title in Bogota nearly three years ago.
With Halep’s former coach Darren Cahill sitting in her player’s box, the world No.78 American ruthlessly punished the Russian’s serve and finished with 20 winners, more than three times Kasatkina’s count.