Rafael Nadal explains how he’s surprised himself during Australian Open

Andy Murray discusses his tennis future aged just 14

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Tennis icon Rafael Nadal admitted he has surprised even himself with his performances at the Australian Open. The 20-time Grand Slam champion is set to face Canadian star Denis Shapovalov in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.

Nadal returned to action on the ATP Tour for the first time since early August earlier this month, claiming the Melbourne Summer Set title without dropping a set.

The 35-year-old is unbeaten this year and moved into the last eight of the Australian Open after wins over Marcos Giron, Yannick Hanfmann, Karen Khachanov and Adrian Mannarino.

He claimed a place in the last eight thanks to a straight sets victory over Frenchman Mannarino, although the first set was anything but straightforward. 

It went to a tie-break before Nadal – the sixth seed – took it 16-14 en route to a 7-6 6-2 6-2 win.

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Nadal, who has won the Australian Open just once but is a five-time finallist, is set to face Shapovalov for a place in the last four.

The Canadian defeated Nadal as a teenager in their first meeting on hard courts when they clashed in Montreal in 2017.

However, the 35-year-old has since improved the career head-to-head record between the two to 3-1. 

“It’s going to be a tough one for me,” Nadal told reporters.

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“It’s a match to try my best, to play at my highest level if I want to have chances to go through.

“Yeah, I’m excited about it. 

“I didn’t expect to be where I am weeks ago.”

Italian seventh seed Matteo Berrettini will face Frenchman Gael Monfils in the other quarter-final in Nadal’s half of the draw.

In the women’s draw, world number one Ashleigh Barty is hoping to give Australia a first home women’s champion at the tournament since 1978.

She will face American Jessica Pegula, who has never reached the semi-finals of a tournament and is the 21st seed, in the last eight.

Madison Keys, a former US Open runner-up, will clash with French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova in what could be an interesting battle.

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