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Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates his victory in his males’s singles match in opposition to Maxime Cressy of the US on the Melbourne Summer Set tennis event in Melbourne on January 9, 2022. (Photo : MIKE FREY/AFP through Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal will head to the 2022 Australian Open with momentum on his facet after profitable the Melbourne Summer Set trophy on Sunday, January 9. He defeated American qualifier, Maxime Cressy, in straight units within the remaining, 7-6 (6), 6-3.
Nadal wins 89th ATP Tour title
There have been loads of query marks surrounding the state of Nadal’s recreation earlier than he arrived Down Under. He final performed within the ATP Tour again in August earlier than a foot harm derailed and ended his 2021 season. However, Nadal confirmed little signal of rust upon his return to the laborious courts, because the World No. 6 didn’t drop a single set on this event.
The victory in opposition to Cressy didn’t come straightforward for Nadal, with the Spaniard discovering it troublesome to take care of the American’s serve-and-volley recreation within the early levels. The 35-year-old was pushed right into a first-set tiebreaker by Cressy, with Nadal even taking place a set level through the decider.
Nadal managed to avoid wasting that set level and received the tiebreaker by a rating of 8-6. Cressy battled again within the second set and went up a break throughout that stage. But Nadal wouldn’t be denied, firing seven aces in that set to safe his 89th ATP Tour win.
It was an vital victory for Nadal, who continued his run of profitable no less than one tour-level crown yearly since 2004. Nadal’s final victory in Australia got here within the 2009 Australian Open. His final remaining within the continent was again in 2019 within the Australian Open remaining, the place he misplaced in straight units to Novak Djokovic.
The stage is now set for Nadal to win his file twenty first Grand Slam title on the Australian Open later this month. With Novak Djokovic’s participation unsure due to his unvaccinated standing, the door is open for Nadal to keep away from his Big Three rivals within the Grand Slam title race. Nadal, Djokovic, and Roger Federer all have 20 Grand Slams apiece getting into the 2022 season.
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Canada wins ATP Cup in Sydney
The Canadian flag is flying excessive in Australia proper now after Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov gave Canada the victory within the ATP Cup Final in opposition to Spain. Shapovalov opened the ultimate with a complete 6-4, 6-3 victory over Pablo Carreno Busta earlier than Auger-Aliassime clinched the title for Canada with a 7-6 (3), 6-3 singles win over Roberto Bautista Agut.
It was a shocking turnaround for the Canadians, who opened their event with losses in every of their first 4 matches. They managed to show issues round after shedding 3-0 to the United States of their opening group match, with Canada beating Germany and Great Britain to complete prime of Group C. Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov then teamed as much as win the deciding doubles match in opposition to Russia within the semifinals, ousting the defending champions within the course of.
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