Rafael Nadal of Spain (R) and Novak Djokovic of Serbia pose for a photo on Court Philippe-Chatrier ahead of their Men's Singles Final (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal can cash in on Djokovic’s absence and win his 21st Grand Slam at Australian Open
Novak Djokovic’s absence from the Australian Open has opened up an opportunity of a lifetime for Rafael Nadal. The Serbian was forced to withdraw from the competition because of the country’s vaccine mandates which saw him get his visa cancelled. However, on the flipside, Nadal can make full of use of this and become the first player in history to win 21 grand slams.
No player in history has achieved the feat of winning 21 grand slams. Djokovic looked set to be the one to do it first. However, the Spaniard can make full use of the situation to do that. Moreover, it has become ever so important for Djokovic to reconsider his vaccine stance as it is becoming more and more difficult for unvaccinated players to go around the world and play.
Nadal has been on a tear at the 2022 Australian Open as one would expect. The Spaniard has successfully made it to the semi-finals of the tournament. The 20-time grand slam winner took on Denis Shapovalov in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
A hard-fought match saw the ‘King of Clay’ win a five-setter. After going 2 sets to nil up, the Spaniard was put on the back foot after the Canadian roared back to take the next two sets.
However, Nadal got back his groove in the 5th set to get the win and move to the semi-finals.
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