RAFA NADAL'S odds of winning a record 21st Grand Slam title shortened yesterday after the Spanish superstar survived the longest tiebreak of his career.
The 2009 champion needed seven set points before finally winning a 28-minute tiebreak against Adrian Mannarino to reach the last eight.
And the Spanish superstar is now second favourite to win the title behind Daniil Medvedev after his scheduled quarterfinal opponent Alex Zverev crashed out to Denis Shapovalov.
Nadal revealed after his last win that he feared his career would be over because of the chronic foot injury which ended his season last August.
But the Spaniard, 35, returned to win his comeback event in Melbourne earlier this month and he is now through to his 14th Australian Open quarter-final - and 45th in Grand Slams.
This story is from the January 24, 2022 edition of Daily Record.
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This story is from the January 24, 2022 edition of Daily Record.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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