A day after the controversy arose from a comment by Rafa Nadal on a post by Patrick Mouratoglou, where he claimed that Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz were superior to the Big-3, he has been eliminated. The Mallorcan used several laughing emojis as a way of not taking the words of the French coach seriously; however, that message no longer appears on Mouratoglou’s Instagram, and it remains to be seen if Nadal himself deleted it or if it was the Frenchman who removed it.
Almost no one imagined that the Serbian legend could beat world number 2 Jannik Sinner – unbeaten in Melbourne since 2023 – in a best-of-five-set match at almost 39 years old.
The veteran from Belgrade – who had been very lucky against Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals benefiting from the retirement of the Italian star while leading by two sets to nil – put in a performance beyond all expectations on the iconic Rod Laver Arena yesterday, prevailing at the end of an extraordinary battle in which he was inferior in all statistics.
Nadal pays tribute to Djokovic
The former world number 1 managed to make the difference in the decisive moments and he himself compared this victory to a triumph in a Grand Slam tournament. Nole had not beaten Jannik since the final of the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals in Turin and deserves nothing but applause for having achieved one of the most incredible feats of his entire career.
He will be back in action against Carlos Alcaraz tomorrow, aiming to become the oldest player ever to win a Major title. The 24-time Grand Slam champion has already beaten Carlitos in this tournament, more precisely in the quarterfinals of the 2025 edition, playing a top-level tennis that had surprised the young Spaniard.
Interviewed by the AO’s official website, Rafael Nadal – who will be the protagonist of an event scheduled at Melbourne Park tomorrow – paid tribute to his old rival: “We have created an extraordinary rivalry, competing to win the most important titles and pushing ourselves beyond the limit. Nole represents an example of commitment and resilience, as well as having the courage to challenge opponents much younger than him. The fact that he can be so competitive at his age proves his greatness once again. I have enormous respect for him.”