Nadal reaches Australian Open final, within 1 win of record
By JOHN PYE
AP Sports Writer
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Rafael Nadal has advanced to the Australian Open final with a win over Matteo Berrettini and is now within one victory of a men’s-record 21st Grand Slam singles title. Nadal broke the seventh-seeded Berrettini’s opening service games in the first two sets and finished off a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory in just under three hours. He’s into the final at Melbourne Park for the sixth time. His only title to date at the Australian Open was in 2009. Nadal shares the men’s record of 20 major titles with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Federer didn’t travel to Australia while he continues to recover from knee surgery. Djokovic was deported because of his decision not to get vaccinated for COVID-19.