Rafael Nadal is taking nothing for granted against his US Open semi-final opponent Matteo Berrettini because he bids to close in on Roger Federer’s Grand Slam record.
Nadal is chasing a US Open title that will move to within one important triumph of fitting the tally of 20 of Federer.
The field looks clear for Nadal as the one of the’three’ defending winner Novak Djokovic and standing at Flushing Meadows following the shock leaves of Federer.
But if Nadal had a reminder that it won’t be all plain sailing from New York if he faces Berrettini, the Italian 24th seed, for a location in the final from either Daniil Medvedev or even Grigor Dimitrov, subsequently he’s received one.
Nadal has never played later coming through five sets against Gael Monfils the 23-year-old, who reached his first Grand Slam semi-final.
The Spaniard said:”He’s having a great year. He’s in the semi-finals, winning a great deal of great matches. In the semi-finals of a Grand Slam match you can’t anticipate a simple opponent. You can’t expect a simple match.
“I really believe that if you want to win championships, you will need to go through tough opponents like I’d against Marin (Cilic) and against Diego (Schwartzman).
“He had been playing great the whole event, and now another player is playing good. He’s serving huge, big forehands, moving well, and big confidence because he’s having a excellent year.”
Berrettini was only nine when he first became aware of Nadal, seeing his epic five-set closing triumph over Guillermo Coria in the 2005 Open.
“They had been showing the game to the TV for free, but it was, for example, a channel that was roughly cartoons,” he recalled. “I had been young. These men, I suggest, half an hour. Come on! I would like to capture my cartoons.”
Medvedev and dimitrov meet at the very first semi-final, a match-up not many would have tipped in the side of the draw which included Federer and Djokovic.
Injuries have seen a former world No 3, Bulgarian Dimitrov, slide to 78 eight tries – unexpected, which makes his triumph – his first from the ranks.
“It had been low I do not even want to go there any more,” he said of a miserable year.
“It was obviously harm, losing points, standing. That’s the lowest stage of almost any participant. The six, seven months have been pretty tough. But I had somebody to lean on, my friends.
“Next thing you know, you are almost end of the year, you now still have a result like that. It is pretty unique to me.”
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