Raonic wasn’t just the higher-seeded player, No.3 to No.9, but he had actually won two of the pair’s last three meetings – including just a few weeks ago at the lead-up tournament in Brisbane.
But Nadal was on his game right from the start, breaking in the seventh game of the match en route to taking the first set and then hanging very tough in the second set, fighting off a total of six set points – three serving 4-5, three more in the tie-break – but eventually going up two sets to none.
The two continued to hold tightly to their serves in the third set but Nadal pounced one last time right at the very end, breaking at love to close out an electric 6-4 7-6(7) 6-4 quarterfinal triumph.
“I was just fighting,” Nadal said afterwards. “I was always believing and just trying to win the next point. That’s the way I’ve done it my whole career. Today I had a very difficult opponent. He beat me two weeks ago in Brisbane. So I decided to go a little more into the court tonight. And he has one of the top serves on the tour, so I needed to be very concentrated and focused on my serve.”
Indeed he was – he held all 16 of his service games and fought off all four break points he faced.
He’s now through to his first Grand Slam semifinal since winning the French Open in 2014.
Next up will be No.15 seed Grigor Dimitrov, who dominated No.11 seed David Goffin, 6-3 6-2 6-4.
Nadal leads Dimitrov in their head-to-head, 7-1, but Dimitrov’s lone win did come in their last meeting at Beijing last fall, and the Bulgarian former Top 10 player is a flawless 10-0 so far this season.
The last two women’s quarterfinals took Rod Laver Arena earlier in the day, with Mirjana Lucic-Baroni continuing her sentimental – and giant-killing – run with a 6-4 3-6 6-4 win over the No.5 seed, Karolina Pliskova, and No.2 seed Serena Williams overpowering No.9 seed Johanna Konta, 6-2 6-3.
Lucic-Baroni is now through to her second Grand Slam semifinal, her first coming almost 18 years ago at Wimbledon in 1999. “Those moments when you’re on the court and you’re winning, those couple minutes of pure ecstasy are amazing, and once you walk off the court, everything calms down a little bit,” the Croatian veteran said in her post-match press conference. “I’m still in the tournament, and I want to remain kind of calm and focused, and give another really good performance tomorrow.”
Williams is now two wins away from an Open Era record 23rd major – but she’s not looking any further than the next one. “She’s playing really well,” Williams said. “I think it’s so important not to underestimate anyone. This has been coming for her for a long time. She’s been wanting to win Grand Slams and to do well. I think it’s so important for me to just stay focused and hopefully play well. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a win – I’m here to win, I’m here to do the best that I can.”
This will be Williams’ 34th career Grand Slam semifinal, and she’s a remarkable 28-5 in her first 33. Even more remarkable is her career record in Australian Open semifinals – a flawless 7-0.
She’s 2-0 lifetime against Lucic-Baroni but both meetings came in 1998, at Sydney and Wimbledon.
—-
By John Berkok