Emotional Nadal stands one win away from record 21st major

MELBOURNE :A teary-eyed Rafa Nadal felt his tennis career was "alive" again after Friday's victory over Italian Matteo Berrettini took him to the Australian Open final and left him one win away from a men's record 21st Grand Slam title.

A couple of months ago, the 35-year-old Spaniard was worried that he might never return to the court again after missing chunks of the 2021 season, including Wimbledon, the Olympics and the U.S. Open, due to a long-standing foot problem.

Nadal also suffered a difficult few days after contracting COVID-19 last month but despite the calamitous build-up to the season, he has been unbeaten in 2022.

He registered his 10th straight win on Friday and after overpowering Wimbledon finalist Berrettini 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3 to reach his sixth final at Melbourne Park, Nadal could not stop the tears from rolling down as he buried his face in his shirt.

"I went through a lot of challenging moments, a lot of days of hard work without seeing a light there," he told reporters.

"A lot of conversations with the team, with the family about what's gonna happen if things continue like this, thinking that maybe it's a chance to say goodbye.

"I feel alive in terms of my tennis life, in terms of my tennis career."

A win for the Spaniard in Sunday's final against either Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas will break a three-way tie with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer and give him sole ownership of the men's major record.

Federer is injured while top-ranked Djokovic was deported from Australia ahead of the tournament, leaving Nadal as the only one with a chance to nose ahead.

FAST START

With rain bucketing down outside, Nadal made a fast start under the closed roof at the Rod Laver Arena and took control by breaking