Spaniard books 25th slam final appearance with victory
Nadal cruises past young Greek player 6-2, 6-4, 6-0
Rafael Nadal ended the run of exciting young Greek
Stefanos Tsitsipas in brutal fashion to reach his 25th grand slam final.
Tsitsipas was looking to become only the third man after Juan Martín del Potro and Novak Djokovic to beat both Roger Federer and Nadal at the same slam, but was firmly put in his place as the Spaniard swept to a 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 victory in just an hour and 46 minutes.
Nadal will take on either Djokovic or Frenchman Lucas Pouille, who play their semi-final on Friday, in the title decider on Sunday.
Nadal, for whom this will be a fifth
Australian Open final, said: “It has been a great match, great tournament. I think I played very well every day. After a lot of months without playing, this court and this crowd have given me this unbelievable energy.
“To start the season like this when a few weeks ago when I was in Brisbane, having to take a very tough decision not to play there. In that moment it was difficult for me to imagine where I am today. Since the tournament started I’ve felt really, really well.”
On Tsitsipas, Nadal added: “He has everything to become a multi-grand slam champion. When at this age he is already in the semi-finals, it says a lot of good things about him.”