‘Alexander Zverev was not a clear favorite!’ Rafael Nadal left little surprised by Denis Shapovalov’s shock at Australian Open 2022
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Denis Shapovalov, Rafael Nadal
Alexander Zverev was defeated in the fourth round of Australian Open 2022 by the Canadian, Denis Shapovalov in straight sets, The result was potentially one of the upsets of the tournament from the men’s side. Zverev was the second highest seed remaining in the tournament, and one of the favorites to claim the title.
Denis Shapovalov will next face Spaniard, Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of Australian Open 2022 on Tuesday. Nadal, on the other hand defeated the Frenchman, Adrian Mannarino in the fourth round, as he turned out to be the giant-killer of the tournament so far.
Many tennis fans and pundits were left shocked by Alexander Zverev’s shocking loss to Denis Shapovalov. However, Nadal believes that Zverev was the not clear favorite entering into the clash, and he is little surprised with the result.
‘It was not a clear match at all,’ says Rafael Nadal
Once we enter into the latter stages of a Grandslam, there are no favorites, as even top players must produce their best tennis on the day. Similarly, Rafael Nadal stated that it is hard to say if either Alexander Zverev did not play up to his standards, or Denis Shapovalov was simply unplayable.
“Surprised by Zverev? Not that much. He was a bit favorite probably because of his ranking, but was not a clear favorite. I don’t know if Sascha played well or not. Surprise? Very little. Honestly, no, it was not a clear match at all,” said Nadal.
Rafael Nadal has been in terrific form at the Australian Open 2022. The sixth seeded Spaniard has dropped just one set in Melbourne so far, which came against Karen Khachanov in the third round. As for his quarterfinals opponent, Denis Shapovalov, he will be riding high on confidence as he makes his second semifinal appearance in just about 6 months.
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Nirmit Mehta
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