Nadal grows to the final

Almost 500 days later, 474 to be exact, Rafael Nadal will once again play in the final of a Grand Slam. After the crush suffered against Denis Shapovalov three days ago, the champion of 20 greats quickly put the duel with Matteo Berrettini on track and placated a final rush by the Italian to access his sixth final in Australia, the 29th on a great stage: 6-3, 6-2, 3-6 and 6-3, in 2h 55m. The 35-year-old king of the land is just one victory away from the 500 on hard court, and above all one step away from breaking the historical tie at 20

with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. To achieve it, so close and so far, he must defeat the winner of the other semifinal, starring the Russian Daniil Medvedev and the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, in the final on Sunday (9.30, Eurosport).

Nadal had played day and night, but not yet indoors.

Point shots over Melbourne, closed cover and, a priori, an unwelcome preamble for the Balearic Islands, since under this format the ball weighs more and stings less.

That is to say, in those circumstances the serve and the flat forehand of the Italian could do even more damage.

In any case, the Spaniard had it crystal clear: objective, pulverize Berrettini's backhand, the Roman's weak point.

Number seven was not found nor did Nadal leave him, as if he had set the alarm clock late.

He entered the match cold and stiff, and the consequence was lethal, because in the blink of an eye the Spaniard had already broken his serve and had won the first set.

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Nadal chooses the risk: more speed, more fouls

Replacement of the physical attack he suffered in the quarters, when he suffered a heat stroke against Denis Shapovalov, he moved briskly, fresh in his legs and from there he began to connect one blow after another in the direction of the opponent's back, without hesitation.

One after another, like a

.

He misses that misses, punishing the deficit and oiling the

well .

He took over the dance floor, exercised and percussed.

At the close of the first round, Berrettini had already made 14 unforced errors and made too much of a gesture.

The Italian gave off the feeling of having gone out on the track defeated in advance, overwhelmed by doubts, without tools to counteract and extremely fragile in the rallies.

Nadal, good hound, sniffed those hesitations and ate it up.

As he advances rounds and sees success, the Spaniard tends to resize himself. From less to more in the tournament, more and more recognizable and having passed the agonizing test of the previous season, he multiplied his performance against an opponent who, despite having settled in the noble zone of the circuit, still competes several rungs below more competitive alternatives. consistent as those of Medvedev or Alexander Zverev, even the Greek Tsitsipas. His punch is impressive, but the flaw of the backhand is accentuated when from the other side a twisted ball is proposed like that of Nadal, who started the second set with another

–two bites in the first two options of the duel– and enjoyed generating effects and building the points.

An accomplished strategist, he widened the court and opened angles with his forehand and backhand,

, cornering Berrettini and preventing him from re-engaging with his masterstroke. Leaning, forced and anguished, misplaced, the Roman snorted and looked at infinity, the balls fell before serving. Too much anxiety inside that head. The stage was too comfortable for the Mallorcan, who in another jiffy had already raised a 4-0 and sealed the second set categorically. At that moment, Berrettini's failure counter registered 24, while Nadal's marked a trifle: 7. Not once had the man from Manacor opened the door, at that point. Not a single second of respite did the rival have.

Once the adaptation period has been overcome (Marcos Giron (66th) and Yannick Hanfmann (126th), with good marks the subsequent slopes (Karen Khachanov (30th) and Adrian Mannarino (69th) and also the unevenness suffered (Denis Shapovalov (14th) that preceded the final ramps, Nadal finished calibrating himself on the penultimate ascent, and he did so, of course, with the patina of emotion that defines his career.

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Nadal is the king of agony

Apparently delivered, Berrettini – 25 years old and a finalist last year at Wimbledon – turned around in the final stretch. The first

that the Spaniard had encountered since June stopped the bleeding, recomposed himself and counterattacked. He did, yes, when he already knew he was lost. The insurgency was short-lived. He scratched a set, but the same way he got up, he fell apart. More fireworks than anything else. ephemeral rebellion. After linking four love turns, he saved a break option in the eighth game, resisting a superb exchange of 23 shots, but then he slipped again and conceded the final break. In the end, a setback to the net ended his journey.

Feeling the ball, going deep into the parallels and with no sign of discomfort in the battered left foot, tactically perfect, Nadal kept it at bay.

The manacorí, champion in 2009, tasted the crossing and entered his sixth Australian final exhibiting himself, sending the message that he is already there, ready, with his finger on the trigger and with competitive biorhythms definitely at their due level.

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