Izuchukwu Okosi
Rafael Nadal moved a step closer to achieving a 21st Grand Slam men’s title as he defeated Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in the Australian Open semi-finals.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelNadal will face Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday’s final.
The 35-year-old Spaniard is level on 20 major titles with long- time rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
The Serbian won his first title in Melbourne in 2009 and spoke to the media on his the victory.
“The first two sets were some of the best I’ve played for a long time.
“I had to suffer and I had to fight but to be in the final again means a lot.”
Russian second seed Medvedev plays Greek fourth seed Tsitsipas later on Friday in the second men’s semi-final at Melbourne Park.
US Open champion Medvedev, 25, was beaten in last year’s final by Djokovic, who did not play this year after being
deported from Australia in a visa row related to him being unvaccinated.
Tsitsipas, 23, is targeting his maiden Grand Slam title – after losing to Djokovic in last year’s French Open final – and his first Melbourne final.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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