Rafael Nadal's comeback halted in epic encounter in Brisbane

Spanish great Rafael Nadals comeback to tennis came to an end when he lost a 3hr 25min marathon quarterfinal to Australian Jordan Thompson at the Brisbane International on Friday Thompson saved three match points in the second set before overcoming an increasingly fatigued Nadal 57 76 86 63 in a gruelling encounter that finished just before midnight on Pat Rafter Arena Thompson booked a semifinal against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov with the win while at the same time throwing a spanner in the works of Nadals Australian Open preparations Nadal said he had plenty of chances to win but just couldnt take them I think he played a good match For me it was not the best match I had a lot of opportunities to win it he said I need to accept that After a year of not playing thats normal Playing his first tournament after almost 12 months away from the sport through injury Nadal appeared headed for a straight sets win But an inspired Thompson refused to go away and took advantage of some unforced errors from the Spaniard to clinch the second set Nadal who was broken early in the third set took a medical time out at 14 down after appearing to need treatment to his upper left thigh He was able to continue but was unable to break back and Thompson held on to the delight of the capacity crowd Nadal said he wouldnt know how bad the injury was until the next day A lot of things can happen in a body like my body after a year without playing tennis he said So hopefully it is just a muscle that is supercharged Thompson said he was so wrapped up in the match he couldnt remember a key moment I completely forgot I saved match points Thompson said To beat Rafa in Brisbane in a quarterfinal and I think it is now my first semifinal on a hard court I couldnt be happier Thompson will now play second seed Dimitrov after the Bulgarians 61 64 victory over Australian Rinky HijikataAlso Read Khanna siblings rule MSSA tennisThe second semifinal sees top seeded Dane Holger Rune up against Russian Roman Safiullin Rune looked in great touch as he downed Australian qualifier James Duckworth 62 76 86 while unseeded Safiullin beat Italys Matteo Arnaldi 76 74 62 Nadal had gone into his quarterfinal against Thompson in superb touch following relatively easy wins in his opening two rounds But Thompson the world number 55 ensured that the Spaniard wouldnt have it all his own way returning well throughout to constantly pressure Nadals serve Despite losing his serve for the first time this tournament at 33 in the opener Nadal was able to break Thompson twice to clinch a tight first set in 70 minutes Thompson threw everything at Nadal in the second set playing some superb tennis but the Spaniard was able to somehow absorb the pressure It looked like vintage Nadal as he turned the screws in the tiebreak opening a 30 lead But Thompson came back to level at 33 then saved two match points at 64 down clinching the set in 83 minutes Nadal began to look tired at the start of third set in contrast to the Australian and it came as no surprise when he was broken early in the third with Thompson comfortably holding onIn the womens draw Aryna Sabalenka fired a warning ahead of her Australian Open defence by powering into the semifinals with a straightsets demolition of Daria Kasatkina Sabalenkas 61 64 victory was her 14th consecutive win on Australian soil after also claiming the Adelaide crown in the leadup to last years opening Grand Slam of the year The Belarusian raced through the first set against the Russian in 32 minutes but had to fight harder in the second breaking Kasatkina once and holding on to win the match in 1hr 26min Sabalenka will now play fellow Belarusian Victoria Azarenka with a 2023 Australian Open final replay against second seed Elena Rybakina a possibility for Sundays decider Former Grand Slam champions Azarenka and Rybakina reached the semis in contrasting fashion Twotime Australian Open winner Azarenka took 2hr 30min before finally outlasting thirdseeded Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 63 36 75 in the first match on Pat Rafter Arena Rybakina was then handed a spot in the last four when her Russian opponent Anastasia Potapova withdrew with a stomach problem after losing the first set 61 Rybakina will face Linda Noskova next after the Czech player saw off 16yearold Russian Mirra Andreeva 75 63With agency inputs