Rafael Nadal shrugged off his derailed bid for the Grand Slam record with a pledge to keep "fighting" but the Spaniard leaves the Australian Open with familiar regrets after bowing out to a rising talent on Wednesday.
World No. 2 Nadal appeared set to cruise into the semifinals at Melbourne Park but was beaten 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 7-5 by Stefanos Tsitsipas, an opponent he destroyed in the semifinals in 2019.
The 34-year-old has now lost in the quarterfinals in consecutive years, having been outplayed by Dominic Thiem in 2020.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.