Australian Open 2022: Rafael Nadal books quarterfinal berth; Alexander Zverev stunned by Denis Shapovalov

Rafael Nadal has sealed his place in the Australian Open 2022 quarterfinal. He defeated Adrian Mannarino in the pre-quarters in straight sets. Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev was stunned by Denis Shapovalov.

Former one-time champion Rafael Nadal of Spain has reached the quarterfinal of the 2022 Australian Open (AO). On Sunday, he defeated Adrian Mannarino of France in the pre-quarters in straight sets 7-6(14), 6-2, 6-2. It will be his 14th quarterfinal appearance in his 17th AO appearance. He won the title back in 2009.

The opening set was intense that headed into the tie-break. Nadal saved four set points to ensure that he had the opening lead in the match. He guessed Mannarino shots right, besides using his renowned and fierce forehand strokes. The Frenchman hit 19 winners in the first set, while The Spaniard hit 17.

While the opening set lasted an hour and 21 minutes, the following two sets were followed by sheer domination from Nadal. While the Spaniard claimed a couple of breaks each in the final two, both sets combined lasted less than what the opening set did. So far, the sixth seed has lost just a set in the tournament.

In the meantime, third seed Alexander Zverev of Germany was stunned by Denis Shapovalov of Canada, who happens to be the 14th seed. It was a straight-set defeat 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-2. Since the start, the German was unstable with his play as the Canadian managed a break in the opening set to take the lead.

Zverev looked to bounce back in the second and managed to take it to the tie-breaker, which again turned out to be closely contested. However, Shapovalov earned just a break in the tie-break to lead 2-0. As for the final set, the German was undoubtedly under pressure and succumbed to it by giving away a break, which was enough for the Canadian to book his quarterfinal berth, where he takes on Nadal.