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Stefanos Tsitsipas insists he has an “extra connection” to Rod Laver Arena after claiming one of the best wins of his career against Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open quarterfinals. Tsitsipas came from straight sets and won a fifth tiebreaker to secure his place in the last four.
The Greek is in the Melbourne Grand Slam semi-finals for the second time in his career after being beaten by Nadal in straight sets in 2019.
That year, Tsitsipas beat 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer – the tournament’s reigning champion – on center court in the fourth round.
And his win over Nadal was his second against a top 10 opponent at Rod Laver Arena as the world No.6 booked a semi-final with fourth seed Daniil Medvedev.
In the other semi-final, world No.1 Novak Djokovic is the overwhelming favorite to beat Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev, who stunned the tennis world to get to this stage on Thursday (8.30am UK time).
The Serb was the pre-tournament favorite to win the title, which would be his ninth in Melbourne, but Tsitsipas will remain hopeful of knocking him down if he manages to overtake Medvedev.
The 22-year-old defeated Djokovic twice in six games and took the seed to five sets in the semi-finals at Roland Garros in October.
And after defeating Nadal, Tsitsipas insists he has a special feeling when he plays on the main court of the Australian Open after his victory over the Spaniard and his loss to Swiss icon Federer on the same area two years ago.
Asked how he compares his victory over Nadal to his triumph over Federer, Tsitsipas said: “It brings back some very good emotions and feelings.
“Certainly, you know, I feel something more, an additional connection with this tribunal, with Rod Laver.
“I had great times, times that just lifted me up and times that I will never forget. Rod Laver is one of my favorite arenas, the courts. It is an amazing place to play tennis.
“Every year that I play on this court, I just get better and better, and I’m happy to have the opportunity to play on such beautiful courts with a crowd that understands tennis and creates an atmosphere.”
The Australian Open will once again welcome fans for the final four days of the tournament after a brief coronavirus lockdown in Melbourne.
This should see Tsitsipas playing his semi-final with Medvedev at Melbourne Park in front of spectators who had to play against Nadal in an empty arena.
Tsitsipas will also be able to play in front of the fans if he makes his first-ever Grand Slam final.
He will likely face Djokovic, eight-time Australian Open champion, winner in 2019 and 2020, if he overtakes Medvedev.
The 17-time Grand Slam winner suffers an abdominal injury but has managed to overtake Taylor Fritz, Milos Raonic and Alexander Zverev since suffering the issue in the third set of his clash with Fritz.
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And Tsitsipas admits he admires Djokovic’s formidable record in the year’s first slam, which reads 75-8 – his best of four majors – and has seen him win all of his last 19 matches in this event.
“Well, he’s an amazing fighter,” he said. “He had great victories on this field. I watched a lot of his matches when I was younger, not yet on the tour.
“I remember an epic battle he had against Stan Wawrinka that I remember. I loved this game.
“He had some great matches with Rod Laver, and he dominated. He’s been winning here in Australia for many years.
“I respect what he does and his consistency on Australian soil a lot. He seems to like playing here. It’s his vibe. ”
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