2019 AUSTRALIAN OPEN
DAY 9 MEN’S NOTES
Tuesday 22 January
Quarterfinals Bottom Half
No. 2 Rafael Nadal (ESP) v Frances Tiafoe (USA)
No. 14 Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) v No. 22 Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)
On court today…
• No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal will take on first-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist Frances Tiafoe in a battle of experience against youth on Rod Laver Arena this evening. Nadal is aiming to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam for the 30th time, becoming just the 4th man in the Open Era to reach the last 4 at the majors on 30 or more occasions. But Tiafoe, whose best Grand Slam performance prior to this tournament was a 3rd round finish at Wimbledon last year, has already defeated 2 seeded players here and will be confident of recording another upset tonight.
• The earlier match on Rod Laver Arena will see the conquerors of last year’s champion and finalist, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Roberto Bautista Agut respectively, look to continue their good form in Melbourne. Both have endured tough matches to get to this point – all 4 of Tsitsipas’ victories have come in 4 sets, while Bautista Agut has won 3 five-set matches at the same event for the first time in his career. This encounter promises to be closely-fought too, with a first Grand Slam semifinal the prize on offer to the winner.
• If Nadal and Bautista Agut both win today, they will ensure multiple Spanish representatives in the men’s singles semifinals here for just the 2nd time in history – after Nadal and Fernando Verdasco both reached the last 4 here in 2009. If Pablo Carreno Busta, who is in round of 16 action at the time of writing, joins them in the semifinals, it will be the first time that Spain has had 3 representatives in the semifinals at a Grand Slam since 2002 Roland Garros, when Alex Corretja, Albert Costa and Juan Carlos Ferrero all reached the last 4.
• Tsitsipas and Tiafoe represent the younger generation here, with Tsitsipas the youngest man remaining in the draw at 20 years 168 days and Tiafoe, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Sunday, just a few months older. If they both win today, it will be the first time that 2 players aged 21 or younger have reached the semifinals at a Grand Slam since 21-year-olds Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray reached the last 4 at the 2008 US Open.
NO. 2 RAFAEL NADAL (ESP) v FRANCES TIAFOE (USA)
Head-to-head: first meeting
Nadal has lost an Australian Open match to a player ranked as low as No. 39 Tiafoe on just one previous occasion – when he fell to No. 45 Fernando Verdasco in the 1st round here in 2016. He has not lost to a player ranked as low as Tiafoe at Tour-level since falling to No. 143 Denis Shapovalov in the 3rd round at 2017 Montreal-1000.
Nadal is bidding to extend a 20-match winning streak against American opposition at the Grand Slams. He has not lost to an American opponent at the majors since falling to James Blake in the 3rd round at the 2005 US Open. He has a 24-2 win-loss record against Americans at the majors and a 65-9 win-loss record against Americans at Tour-level overall.
NADAL v TIAFOE
32 Age 21
2 ATP Ranking 39
80 Titles 1
251-36 Career Grand Slam Record 9-11
59-12 Australian Open Record 5-2
922-189 Career Record 40-54
439-128 Career Record – Hard 29-38
4-0 2019 Record 4-1
4-0 2019 Record – Hard 4-1
21-12 Career Five-Set Record 1-5
3 Comebacks from 0-2 Down 0
227-145 Career Tiebreak Record 24-33
1-0 2019 Tiebreak Record 2-3
• 2009 Australian Open champion NADAL is bidding to reach his 6th Australian Open semifinal and climb the list for most semifinal appearances here in the Open Era.
• If Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta all reach the semifinals here, it will be the first time in history that Spain has had 3 representatives in the men’s singles semifinals at the Australian Open. It would also be the first time that Spain has had 3 representatives in the semifinals at a Grand Slam since 2002 Roland Garros, when Alex Corretja, Albert Costa and Juan Carlos Ferrero all reached the last 4. [NB written prior to Careno Busta’s round of 16 match on Monday]
• If 2 Spanish players reach the men’s singles semifinals here, it will be the 2nd time in history that Spain has had multiple representatives in the men’s singles semifinals at the Australian Open – after 2009, when Nadal and Fernando Verdasco both reached the last 4 here. It would also be the first time that Spain has had multiple representatives in the semifinals at a Grand Slam since the 2017 US Open, when Carreno Busta and Nadal both reached the last 4.
• By reaching his 37th Grand Slam quarterfinal here, Nadal has claimed claim sole ownership of 4th place on the list for most Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances in the Open Era, ahead of Andre Agassi. Only Federer (53 Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances), Djokovic (who is bidding to reach his 43rd Grand Slam quarterfinal here) and Connors (41) have reached the last 8 at a major more often than Nadal.
• By reaching the quarterfinals here for the 11th time, Nadal claimed sole ownership of 2nd place on the list for most Australian Open quarterfinal appearances in the Open Era, ahead of Stefan Edberg. Only Federer, who has reached the last 8 here on 14 occasions, has reached the quarterfinals here more often than Nadal.
• By winning his opening 4 matches here in straight sets, Nadal has reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam without dropping a set for the 16th time. It is the 6th time he has achieved the feat at the Australian Open. He has reached the semifinals at a major without dropping a set on 10 occasions – including twice here, in 2008 and 2009.
• If 3 Spanish players reach the men’s singles quarterfinals here, this year’s Australian Open will be the first time that Spain has had 3 representatives in the men’s singles quarterfinals here since 1997, when Felix Mantilla, Carlos Moya and Albert Costa all reached the last 8. It is also the first time that Spain has had 3 representatives in the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam since the 2013 US Open, when Nadal, David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo all reached the last 8. [NB written prior to Careno Busta’s round of 16 match on Monday]
• By defeating Alex de Minaur in the 3rd round here this year, Nadal recorded his 250th Grand Slam match-win. He is the 3rd player in history to record 250 Grand Slams match-wins – after Federer (342 Grand Slam match-wins) and Djokovic (261).
• By defeating Matthew Ebden in the 2nd round here this year, Nadal recorded his 57th Australian Open match-win and claimed sole ownership of 3rd place on the list for most Australian Open match-wins in history, ahead of Stefan Edberg.
2019 Australian Open day 9 men’s match notes
• Nadal is bidding to become the first man in the Open Era – and only the 3rd man in history – to win each of the 4 Grand Slam titles twice. Roy Emerson and Rod Laver are the only players to have won each Grand Slam on 2 or more occasions. (NB While Laver completed the feat in 1969, some of the titles were won before the start of the Open Era.) (see Preview page 3)
• Nadal’s best Australian Open performance is winning the title in 2009 (d. Federer). He also reached the final in 2012, losing to Novak Djokovic in the longest men’s Grand Slam final on record at 5 hours 53 minutes, 2014 (l. Stan Wawrinka) and 2017 (l. Federer).
• Nadal is a 17-time Grand Slam champion. In addition to his title here in 2009, he has 11 titles at Roland Garros, 3 US Open titles and 2 Wimbledon titles. This is his 14th appearance at the Australian Open and his 55th Grand Slam overall.
• The Australian Open is Nadal’s 2nd most successful Grand Slam event in terms of matches won, but his least successful event in terms of titles won and semifinals reached. Roland Garros is his most successful major in terms of titles won, matches won and quarterfinals reached.
Grand Slam Titles won Win-loss record Semifinals reached
Australian Open
1
59-12
6??
Roland Garros
11
86-2
11
Wimbledon
2
48-11
6
US Open
3
58-11
7
• Last year here, Nadal reached the quarterfinals but retired due to a right leg injury during the 5th set against Marin Cilic.
• Elsewhere at Grand Slams in 2018, Nadal won his 17th major title at Roland Garros (d. Dominic Thiem) and reached the semifinals at Wimbledon (l. Djokovic) and the US Open, where he retired due to a right knee injury after the 2nd set of his match against Juan Martin del Potro. At Roland Garros he became the first man in history to win 11 titles at a major – and the 2nd player in history to achieve the feat after Margaret Court, who won 11 Australian women’s singles titles.
• Also in 2018, Nadal won the titles at Toronto-1000 (d. Stefanos Tsitsipas), Rome-1000 (d. Alexander Zverev), Barcelona (d. Tsitsipas) and Monte Carlo-1000 (d. Kei Nishikori). He has won a total of 80 Tour-level titles.
• Prior to coming here Nadal withdrew from Brisbane with a thigh strain. He is contesting his first event since retiring in the semifinals at the US Open last year, having undergone right ankle surgery in November
• Nadal has played Davis Cup for Spain since 2004. He has a 24-1 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and a 29-5 win-loss record in the competition overall. By reaching the semifinals in 2018, Spain has secured a place in the 2019 Davis Cup finals in Madrid on 18-24 November.
• Nadal is coached by Carlos Moya and Francisco Roig. His fitness trainer is Rafael Maymo. He was previously coached by his uncle, Toni, from the age of 4 through to the end of the 2017 season.
• TIAFOE is bidding to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam for the first time and become the first American man to reach the last 4 at the Australian Open since Andy Roddick in 2009.
• Aged 21 years 7 days, Tiafoe could become the youngest man to reach the semifinals at the Australian Open since Novak Djokovic (20 years 250 days) in 2008 if he wins today. He could also become the youngest man to reach the semifinals at a major since Juan Martin del Potro (20 years 355 days) at the 2009 US Open. [NB Stefanos Tsitsipas (20 years 168 days) is the youngest man through to the quarterfinals here this year]
• If Tiafoe and Tsitsipas both reach the semifinals here, it will be the first time that 2 players aged 21 or under have reached the semifinals at the Australian Open since 2008, when Djokovic and today’s opponent (21
2019 Australian Open day 9 men’s match notes
years 238 days) both reached the last 4. It would also be the first time that 2 players aged 21 or under have reached the semifinals at a Grand Slam since the 2008 US Open, when Djokovic (21 years 108 days) and Andy Murray (21 years 115 days) both reached the last 4. [NB ages calculated at the end of tournament]
• Tiafoe is also bidding to become the youngest American man to reach the semifinals at the Australian Open since Roddick (20 years 149 days) in 2003. He is also bidding to become the youngest American man to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam since Roddick (20 years 310 days) at 2003 Wimbledon.
• By reaching the quarterfinals here, Tiafoe has recorded his best Grand Slam performance. His previous best Grand Slam performance was reaching the 3rd round at Wimbledon last year, where he beat Fernando Verdasco and Julien Benneteau before falling to Karen Khachanov in 5 sets. This is his 3rd appearance at the Australian Open and his 12th Grand Slam overall.
• By reaching the quarterfinals here, Tiafoe has become just the 2nd American man to reach the quarterfinals at the Australian Open since Andy Roddick in 2010. The only American man to reach the last 8 here since 2010 is Tennys Sandgren last year.
• Last year here, Tiafoe fell to Juan Martin del Potro in the 1st round. Elsewhere in Grand Slam play in 2018, Tiafoe reached the 2nd round at the US Open (d. Adrian Mannarino, l. Alex de Minaur), but fell in the 1st round at Roland Garros (l. Sam Querrey).
• Tiafoe’s best result in 2018 was winning his first Tour-level title at Delray Beach (d. Peter Gojowczyk). He also reached the final at Estoril (l. Joao Sousa) and the quarterfinals New York (l. Anderson) and Queen’s (l. Jeremy Chardy).
• Prior to coming here Tiafoe competed at Sydney, where he fell to John Millman in the 1st round. He also represented USA at the Hopman Cup where he lost all 3 of his singles matches, falling to Tsitsipas, Roger Federer and Cameron Norrie.
• Tiafoe is bidding to defeat a Top 5 player for the first time on his 5th attempt. He recorded his career-best victory against No. 6 Kevin Anderson in the 1st round here this year.
• Tiafoe’s victory against Andreas Seppi in the 3rd round here was his first victory in a 5-set match. It was also the first 5-set match he has contested at the Australian Open. He lost all 5 of his previous 5-set matches.
• Tiafoe reached career-high ranking of No. 38 in August 2018. He plays here one place lower at No. 39.
• Tiafoe had a successful junior career. Aged just 15, he won the 2013 Orange Bowl (d. Stefan Kozlov), becoming the youngest boys’ singles winner in the event’s history. He also reached the boys’ singles semifinals at the 2014 US Open (l. Quentin Halys) and achieved a career-high junior ranking of No. 2. He never competed in the junior event here.
• Tiafoe made his Davis Cup debut in USA’s World Group semifinal defeat to Croatia in Zadar last year, losing both of the rubbers he contested. As a semifinalist in 2018, USA is guaranteed a place in the 2019 Davis Cup finals in Madrid on 18-24 November.
• Tiafoe’s travel coach and hitting partner is Zack Evenden.
2019 Australian Open day 9 men’s match notes
NO. 14 STEFANOS TSITSIPAS (GRE) v NO. 22 ROBERTO BAUTISTA AGUT (ESP)
Head-to-head: first meeting
TSITSIPAS v BAUTISTA AGUT
20 Age 30
15 ATP Ranking 24
1 Titles 9
9-6 Career Grand Slam Record 48-24
4-1 Australian Open Record 15-7
50-38 Career Record 254-150
33-26 Career Record – Hard 166-96
5-1 2019 Record 9-0
5-1 2019 Record – Hard 9-0
1-0 Career Five-Set Record 11-5
0 Comebacks from 0-2 Down 1
24-26 Career Tiebreak Record 87-79
4-2 2019 Tiebreak Record 1-4
Possible semifinal head-to-heads Nadal Tiafoe Tsitsipas
0-2
0-0 Bautista Agut
0-2
0-0
Road to the Quarterfinals TSITSIPAS Time Time BAUTISTA AGUT
d. Matteo Berrettini 67(3) 64 63 76(4)
2:57
1st round
4:09
d. Andy Murray 64 64 67(5) 67(4) 62
d. (Q) Viktor Troicki 63 26 62 75
2:40
2nd round
3:48
d. John Millman 63 61 36 67(8) 64
d. No. 19 Nikoloz Basilashvili 63 36 76(7) 64
2:54
3rd round
2:08
d. No. 10 Karen Khachanov 64 75 64
d. No. 3 Roger Federer 67(11) 76(3) 75 76(5)
3:45
Round of 16
3:58
d. No. 6 Marin Cilic 67(6) 63 62 46 64
total time on court
12:16
(SMT time)
14:03
total time on court
• TSITSIPAS is bidding to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam for the first time.
• At 20 years 168 days, Tsitsipas is bidding to become the youngest man to reach the semifinals at the Australian Open since Andy Roddick (20 years 149 days) in 2003. He is also bidding to become the youngest man to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam since Novak Djokovic (20 years 110 days) at the 2007 US Open.
• If Tsitsipas and Frances Tiafoe both reach the semifinals here, it will be the first time that 2 players aged 21 or under have reached the semifinals at the Australian Open since 2008, when Djokovic and Rafael Nadal (21 years 238 days) both reached the last 4. It would also be the first time that 2 players aged 21 or under have reached the semifinals at a Grand Slam since the 2008 US Open, when Djokovic (21 years 108 days) and Andy Murray (21 years 115 days) both reached the last 4. [NB ages calculated at the end of tournament]
• By reaching the quarterfinals here, Tsitsipas has become the first Greek player – man or woman – in history to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam.
• By reaching the quarterfinals here, Tsitsipas has become the youngest man to reach the last 8 at the Australian Open since Nick Kyrgios (19 years 280 days) in 2015. He also became the youngest man to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam since Andrey Rublev (19 years 325 days) at the 2017 US Open.
• By reaching the quarterfinals here, Tsitsipas has recorded his best Grand Slam result. His previous best Grand Slam result was reaching the round of 16 at 2018 Wimbledon (l. John Isner), when he became the first Greek player – man or woman – to reach the round of 16 at a major since Eleni Daniilidou reached the last 16 in the women’s singles at the 2004 US Open.
2019 Australian Open day 9 men’s match notes
• By defeating Roger Federer in the round of 16, Tsitsipas recorded his 9th Grand Slam match-win and claimed sole ownership of 2nd place on the all-time list for most Grand Slam match-wins by a Greek man, ahead of Augustos Zerlendis. Only Nicky Kalogeropoulos (16) has more Grand Slam match-wins than Tsitsipas.
• Last year here, on his Australian Open debut, Tsitsipas fell to Denis Shapovalov in the 1st round. Elsewhere at the Grand Slams in 2018, he reached the 2nd round at both Roland Garros, where he recorded his first Grand Slam match-win by defeating Carlos Taberner before falling to Dominic Thiem, and the US Open (d. Tommy Robredo, l. Daniil Medvedev).
• Tsitsipas’ best result in 2018 was winning the title at Stockholm (d. Ernests Gulbis), where he became the first Greek player to win a Tour-level title. He also finished runner-up at Barcelona and Toronto-1000, losing to Rafael Nadal on both occasions, and reached the semifinals at Estoril (l. Joao Sousa) and Washington (l. Alexander Zverev). He also won the title at the 2018 NextGen ATP Finals in Milan (d. Alex de Minaur).
• Prior to coming here, Tsitsipas reached the quarterfinals as top seed at Sydney (l. Andreas Seppi). He also competed for Greece at the Hopman Cup, winning one of his 3 singles matches – he defeated Tiafoe, but fell to Cameron Norrie and Federer.
• Tsitsipas is seeded No. 14 here – his highest Grand Slam seeding. He was seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time at Wimbledon last year.
• Tsitsipas broke the Top 20, at No. 15, for the first time after reaching the final at Toronto-1000 in August last year. He plays here at the same ranking.
• Tsitsipas has won the only 5-set match he has contested at Tour-level, defeating Jared Donaldson in the 2nd round at Wimbledon last year. He also defeated Joris de Loore in a 5-set match at 2017 Wimbledon qualifying.
• Tsitsipas is a former junior world No. 1. He reached the quarterfinals of the boys’ singles here in 2015 (l. Jurabek Karimov) and 2016 (l. Alex de Minaur). His best result at a junior Grand Slam was reaching the semifinals of the boys’ singles at 2016 Wimbledon (l. Shapovalov) and at the 2016 US Open (l. Felix Auger-Aliassime).
• Tsitsipas is coached by his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas.
• BAUTISTA AGUT is bidding to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam for the first time.
• If Bautista Agut wins today and reaches the semifinals here for the first time on his 8th Australian Open appearance, he will go joint-12th on the list for most attempts before reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open in the Open Era, alongside Thomas Enqvist and Thomas Johansson. By reaching the quarterfinals here, Bautista Agut entered the list for most attempts before reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open in joint-7th place, alongside Tomas Berdych, Johansson, Marc Rossett and Mikhail Youzhny.
• If Bautista Agut wins today and reaches the semifinals at a major for the first time on his 25th Grand Slam appearance, he will go joint-20th on the list for most attempts before reaching the semifinals at a Grand Slam in the Open Era, alongside Johansson and Chris Lewis. By reaching the quarterfinals here, Bautista Agut entered the list for most attempts before reaching the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam in joint-16th place, alongside Ivo Karlovic and Lewis.
• If Bautista Agut, Rafael Nadal and Pablo Carreno Busta all reach the semifinals here, it will be the first time in history that Spain has had 3 representatives in the men’s singles semifinals at the Australian Open. It would also be the first time that Spain has had 3 representatives in the semifinals at a Grand Slam since 2002 Roland Garros, when Alex Corretja, Albert Costa and Juan Carlos Ferrero all reached the last 4. [NB written prior to Careno Busta’s round of 16 match on Monday]
• If 2 Spanish players reach the men’s singles semifinals here, it will be the 2nd time in history that Spain has had multiple representatives in the men’s singles semifinals at the Australian Open – after 2009, when Nadal and Fernando Verdasco both reached the last 4 here. It would also be the first time that Spain has had multiple representatives in the semifinals at a Grand Slam since the 2017 US Open, when Carreno Busta and Nadal both reached the last 4.
• Bautista Agut is bidding to record his 10th Tour-level match-win of the year today and go top of the list for most Tour-level match-wins in 2019, ahead of Alex de Minaur.
2019 Australian Open day 9 men’s match notes
• By reaching the quarterfinals here this year, Bautista Agut has recorded his best Grand Slam performance. His previous best Grand Slam performance was reaching the round of 16 on 9 previous occasions, including 3 times at the Australian Open – in 2014 (l. Grigor Dimitrov), 2016 (l. Berdych) and 2017 (l. Milos Raonic).
• Last year here, Bautista Agut fell to Verdasco in the 1st round. Elsewhere at the Grand Slams in 2018, Bautista Agut reached the 3rd round at Roland Garros (l. Novak Djokovic) but fell in the 1st round at the US Open (l. Jason Kubler). He missed Wimbledon due to a groin injury.
• Bautista Agut’s best results in 2018 were winning the titles at Auckland (d. Juan Martin del Potro) and Dubai (d. Lucas Pouille). He also finished runner-up at Gstaad (l. Matteo Berrettini) and reached the semifinals at Halle, where he retired due to a hip injury against Borna Coric, and St Petersburg (l. Dominic Thiem).
• Bautista Agut warmed up for the Australian Open by winning his 9th career singles title at Doha (d. Berdych). It is the 4th consecutive season in which he has won a title prior to the Australian Open. 7 of his 9 titles have come on hard courts. His victory in the final at Auckland was his 250th Tour-level match-win in his 400th Tour-level match.
• The Australian Open is Bautista Agut’s most successful Grand Slam event in terms of matches won. He has a 15-7 win-loss record here, compared to a 12-6 win-loss record at Roland Garros, an 11-6 win-loss record at the US Open and a 10-5 win-loss record at Wimbledon.
• Bautista Agut reached a career-high ranking of No. 13 in October 2016. He plays here at No. 23.
• Bautista Agut has played Davis Cup for Spain since 2014 and has a 6-5 win-loss record in the competition. As a semifinalist in 2018, Spain has secured a place in the 2019 Davis Cup finals in Madrid on 18-24 November.
• Bautista Agut is coached by Tomas Carbonell and Pepe Vendrell
