MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal's bid for a record 21st Grand Slam title came crashing to a halt at the Australian Open on Wednesday as Stefanos Tsitsipas rose up to topple the Spaniard 3-6 2-6 7-6(4) 6-4 7-5 and reach the semi-finals. Fifth seed Tsitsipas booked his second Australian Open semi-final and will meet Russian juggernaut Daniil Medvedev for a place in the decider. Tsitsipas slept-walked through the match before he knuckled down on serve in the third set. The stadium was empty barring a few coaches, officials and ballkids, but tension reached boiling point as Tsitsipas butchered a forehand on match point. Tsitsipas made no mistake on his third chance to seal it, blasting a winning backhand that left Nadal's record bid in tatters.

Source: The Star February 17, 2021 13:34 UTC