"We don't talk about 21, if it happens we will talk about it on Sunday"- Rafael Nadal's coach Carlos Moya
Rafael Nadal's coach Carlos Moya has said the Spaniard and his coaching staff are not talking too much about the possibility of winning a 21st Grand Slam.
The King of Clay has had a very good run of form in the Australian Open so far. Nadal started the tournament with straight-set victories over Marcos Giron and Yannick Hanfmann. He then beat Karen Khachanov and Adrian Mannarino to reach the quarterfinals.
Nadal was up against Denis Shapovalov and won the first two sets. However, Shapovalov bounced back and leveled the match. After which, the 35-year-old made a crucial break in the final set and won the match.
The Spaniard, however, could have had his journey cut short in the quarterfinals as he felt discomfort in his stomach. Moya said Nadal had problems handling the heat in Melbourne and preserved his energy for the fifth set. Speaking to COPE, the former World No.1 said:
"He doesn't fare well in extreme heat , we didn't expect that much right, he had done things right. And we didn't expect this to happen after an hour and a half of playing. Then he didn't waste much energy in the third and fourth and was able to give his all in the fifth set. Of course, 100% in the fifth was 40% or 50% of what he gave in the first.", said Moya
"But given the conditions, he gave everything, he actually weighed four kilos less after the match. Even with everything he ate and drank during the match, he lost four kilos, such was the level of dehydration.", Moya added
The heat stroke and how it went down https://t.co/5ZvnFtWGEb
Having reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, Nadal has a fair chance of winning the competition and clinching a record 21st Grand Slam title. However, Moya said that there isn't too much talk about that.
"We don't talk about it but obviously we dream about it and will be talking about it on Sunday hopefully. There have been many things to talk about these past few weeks as you know, but we don't talk about No.21, we know it's there, there's pressure too but we avoid putting too much importance on it. Rafa has said plenty of times his happiness does not depend on it. So, if it happens, we will talk about it on Sunday but for now, the focus is on this week, to recover and on Friday's match.", Moya continued
21 and the fact that Charly’s favorite player to win the tournament is… “Rafa, always” https://t.co/BHXDrOWYSt
Nadal faces Berrettini in the semifinals
Nadal has a tough opponent waiting for him in the semifinals as he faces Matteo Berrettini. The two previously locked horns in the last four of the 2019 US Open with the Spaniard winning in straight sets. Berrettini has since improved and defeating him will be a daunting task for Nadal
The winner of the match will face either Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the finals.