Rafael Nadal let the cat out of the bag after downing Fabio Fognini in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals at Australian Open 2021.
Looking ahead, he named Stefanos Tsitsipas as his next opponent hours before the Greek’s scheduled night match with Matteo Berrettini.
Was Rafa presuming Tsitsipas would beat Berrettini? That wouldn’t be like him.
“I make a step forward today, something that I needed, and I need to make another one for Wednesday against Tsitsipas, I think it's going to be,” Nadal told journalists.
“Is it official? He'll play tonight? Okay. Well, I don't know, maybe ... I think I heard that Berrettini was a little bit injured but not official at all. Sorry for that.
“But yeah, something, I messed it up,” he added, laughing, in a video clip that since went viral.
Confirmation of Berrettini’s withdrawal due to an unfortunately-timed abdominal injury came minutes later.
Nadal being in such good spirits reveals how well the 34-year-old tennis behemoth is feeling after much of the discussion surrounding him in the build-up revolved around his back issues.
Nadal didn’t compete in the ATP Cup ahead of AO21 but ominously for Tsitsipas, is now better on the fitness front.
That came after “amazing preparation” for the year’s first major back home in Mallorca and Adelaide during the Day at the Drive exhibition also featuring the likes of Serena Williams, Ash Barty, Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka, Dominic Thiem and Simona Halep.
“What happened with the back, of course that stopped me a lot,” said Nadal, three victories away from a men’s record 21st Grand Slam title. “But I was able to win the four matches already here, so now I'm going to have a very tough opponent in front. I need to play my best. Let's see if I am able to do it.
“I'm excited about playing that quarterfinals match. If we compare how I was five days ago and how I am in today's situation, it's different, and my perspective and excitement is completely different, too.”
Nadal’s fans are sure to be excited about his record against his fellow bandana-toting foe ahead of Wednesday night’s blockbuster at Rod Laver Arena.
He has won six of seven matches against 22-year-old Tsitsipas, including at the ATP Finals in London in November.
And when they dueled at Melbourne Park in the semifinals in AO2019, Nadal cruised 6-2 6-4 6-0 in what remains Tsitsipas’ worst Grand Slam defeat in total games tallied.
Tsitsipas showered Nadal — yet to relinquish a set at AO21 — with compliments in the aftermath.
“He plays just a different game style than the rest of the players,” Tsitsipas said of the left-hander’s spin-heavy game. “He has this talent that no other player has. I've never seen a player have this.
“His game style has something that it makes the other half of your brain work more than it usually does,” Tsitsipas added.
But make no mistake, this is a different Tsitsipas to two years ago.
While the 2019 Australian Open when ranked 15 marked his Grand Slam breakthrough — memorably saving all 12 break points faced against Roger Federer in the fourth round — Tsitsipas is now a top 10 regular.
He defeated Nadal, the ‘King of Clay’, on clay in Madrid in 2019 and overcame the disappointment of a third-round exit at the US Open in September - not taking any of his six match points against Borna Coric - to post a semifinal showing at the French Open a month later.
Tsitsipas extended Djokovic to five sets after dropping the first two.
When working, his aggressive baseline style can leave the best in the game helpless, and he may have lady luck on his side.
Berrettini’s walkover meant Tsitsipas had more time to recover following his four-and-a-half hour victory against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round.
The world No.6 then brushed aside his practice partner leading into AO21, Mikael Ymer, in 94 minutes, despite not having his boisterous supporters around as Melbourne’s lockdown kicked in.
A large Greek community has led Tsitsipas to label Australia his “second home.”
Wednesday’s winner is certain to meet a Russian in the semifinals, either Daniil Medvedev or Andrey Rublev.