Shapovalov’s comeback bid falls short, loses 5-set thriller to Nadal in Aussie Open quarters

In the end, Denis Shapovalov put himself into a hole that was just too big to climb out of.

If you combine the fact that he fell down two sets to none against one of the greatest players of all time with his 51 unforced errors, the Canadian will certainly feel like he missed an opportunity on Tuesday.

But it’s Nadal who is moving onto the semis at the Australian Open, while Shapovalov heads home following a heartbreaking five-set loss, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3.

“Physically I feel fine. Emotionally, it just sucks to lose that one. Definitely felt like I had it on my racquet,” Shapovalov said post match.

“Third, fourth, fifth set I felt like I was the better player, had more chances. Just one bad game for me (in the fifth set).”

A heartbreaking end to a stellar tournament at the #AusOpen, but Denis Shapovalov will learn from the experience and carry it on to a bright-looking rest of 2022.

Read about the five-set epic Shapovalov played against Rafael Nadal: ⬇️https://t.co/LBiqyxVPbz

— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) January 25, 2022

The 22-year-old looked strong in the early moments of the match, but a break from Nadal put Shapovalov on his heels and the errors started to come.

He would lose both the first and second sets in similar fashion, putting him on the ropes against the legend staring him down from the other end of the court.

There was no quit in Shapovalov though, as both players held serve throughout the third set until Shapovalov was able to break to win it 6-4.

As the momentum started to shift, Nadal’s stomach started to turn, literally, as the 20-time Grand Slam champion dealt with medical issues in the fourth set.

He called out a doctor and took some tablets to ease his queasy stomach, but Shapovalov smelled blood and was able to win another set to tie up the match.

Nadal explaning why he had medical timeout. Stomach issues, took some tablets. pic.twitter.com/x5d87OPlk5

— TENNISMEDIA (@luciahoff) January 25, 2022

But as the fifth and final set began, the sun had moved from the court, providing Nadal a bit of relief from the Melbourne heat, and the veteran’s play reflected that.

Nadal still was not entirely himself, but he had a bit of jump back and played like a man who has won consistently at the highest level for the last two decades.

All he needed was one slip up from Shapovalov, which came in the young Canadian’s first serving game of the set, and he took advantage, earning the final break of the game.

From there, Nadal held strong on serve, and seemingly conserved his energy while Shapovalov served, en route to a 6-4 win in the final set and a berth in the tournament’s semi-final.

Nadal will now take on Matteo Berrettini in one of Friday’s semis, while the other semi will be decided by a pair of quarterfinal matchups today.

One of those matchups features the only Canadian remaining in the tournament, as Felix Auger Aliassime has a tough task ahead of him in the second-seeded Daniil Medvedev.

The winner of Auger Aliassime and Medvedev’s showdown will take on the winner of the other quarter-final between Stefanos Tstsipas and Jannik Sinner.

You’ll have to stay up late if you want to watch Canada’s other young male talent in action, as Auger Aliassime and Medvedev are the Wednesday night match in Melbourne, which means it will start after midnight on Wednesday in BC.