Nadal: I don't know how I came back, I'm not 21 anymore

Rafael Nadal reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in his own style after a great fight - he played five sets and more than four hours to defeat Denis Shapovalov.

The Spaniard led 2:0, the young Canadian reached 2:2, and in the fifth set he had no chance...

"I don't know how I came back. I'm exhausted, I'm not 21 anymore," said the 35-year-old ace after the match.

Nadal also had stomach problems from the third set.

"I had a stomach ache, I went to the dressing room to check my blood pressure. I was lucky that my serve served me well in the fifth set. That was the key, because it was impossible for me to sustain long exchanges. Denis is very talented, he hits the ball strong, he serves powerfully, he had other serves faster than 180 per hour," said Nadal.

He missed the entire second half of last season, he had ankle surgery...

"Two months ago I didn't even know if I would be able to play, now I'm in the semi-finals. That's a big thing for me," said Nadal, who will face the winner of the Beretini-Monfis match in the semi-finals.