Rafael Nadal celebrates his dominant victory. Photo / Getty
Rafael Nadal ended Stefanos Tsitsipas's dream run as he surged into a fifth Australian Open final.
In the women's draw, Petra Kvitova booked her place in the final with a win over American Danielle Collins while Naomi Osaka did the same when she overcame Karolina Pliskova in three sets.
Petra Kvitova defeated Danielle Collins 7-6 (7-2) 6-0
Naomi Osaka defeated Karolina Pliskova 2-6 6-4 6-4
Rafael Nadal defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2 6-4 6-0
TMI, John. TMI.
John McEnroe went to a weird place in his on-court interview with Rafael Nadal, discussing the Spaniard's naked body with everyone at Rod Laver Arena.
After Nadal destroyed Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to reach his fifth Australian Open final, the tennis legend turned commentator decided to reveal what Nadal looks like without any kit on.
McEnroe: I'm going to make some people jealous here. I've got to be honest, at the end of the second set I had to take a quick bathroom break. I was finishing taking this very quick bathroom break when all of a sudden I started to walk out and I saw a naked Rafael Nadal in the bathroom.
Nadal: What was your impression?
McEnroe: I thought to myself, that looks a lot like my body. No. Absolutely lying about that. I said to myself, I wish I had a body like that.
McEnroe also inquired about Nadal's famous sleeveless look.
It comes after the American great quizzed Nadal earlier in the week about getting his shirt off, encouraging him to strip down after another win at Melbourne Park.
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the feel-good story of this year's Australian Open but Rafael Nadal didn't care.
The 32-year-old showed absolutely no regard for the Greek freak's fairytale as he demolished the 20-year-old to storm into Sunday night's final at Melbourne Park.
Tsitsipas has won hearts across the world for his performance at the year's first grand slam, beating Roger Federer en route to the semis but that's where the dream ended as a ruthless Nadal showed him no mercy in a devastating 6-2 6-4 6-0 win.
Nadal said earlier in the tournament Gen Next would have to wait its turn to usurp today's top players but later admitted the strong showing of the youngsters in Melbourne meant maybe they were coming sooner than he wanted. But by showing in brutal fashion he was still top dog, Nadal sent a message that it's not time for a changing of the guard just yet.
The Spaniard broke early to take a 2-1 lead in the first set before extending it to 4-2. Tsitsipas was hitting some heavy groundstrokes but the veteran was giving as good as he got to grab the advantage, before taking the opener 6-2.
"This is just incredible," tennis legend John McEnroe said in commentary for Channel 9 of Nadal. "He's on fire.
"Brutally efficient so far."
Fellow commentator and tennis great Todd Woodbridge added: "Boy oh boy was that a stunning opening set — a real statement from Rafael Nadal."
The No. 2 seed maintained the rage in the second set and showed off his brilliance in the fifth game. He hit an incredible curling forehand from out wide that bent around the net and landed just in. Next point he showed his class off the other wing, hitting a brilliant backhand cross-court passing shot when Tsitsipas advanced to the net.
The Greek star faced three break points in that game but recovered to make it 3-2. He made Nadal work as the set wore on but once again the veteran was a class above, winning the set and establishing a 6-2 6-4 lead.
It was much of the same in the third as Tsitsipas' fight started to wane. He had no answer to Nadal, who handed his young rival a bagel to end the match.
Naomi Osaka has charged into her second consecutive appearance in a grand slam final with a thrilling 6-2 4-6 6-4 victory over Karolina Pliskova on Rod Laver Arena.
The Japanese star took command of their semi-final with a dominant display in the first set. In a good omen, Osaka had previously won 58 straight matches after claiming the opening set. She made that 59 today as she became the first Japanese player to ever make the final of the Australian Open.
Osaka started strongly in the second set too as she hit some blistering winners off her backhand wing but Pliskova stayed with her opponent as scores were levelled at 3-3.
Pliskova was much improved in the second set, getting more aggressive and taking the game on as she sought to match it with Osaka.
She did more than just match it with her, breaking the No. 4 seed when it counted to win the second set 6-4.
Osaka lost her temper a couple of times, yelling with frustration but she managed to keep her cool when staring down the barrel of being broken in her first service game of the third set. Pliskova went ahead 1-0 in the decider and Osaka faced three break points before coming through with a crucial hold.
The defencing US Open champion upped the ante after that game as she broke the Czech star to go up 2-1. Tennis writer Jose Morgado said fans were being treated to an "absolutely ricidulous" encounter of the highest standard — and he was right.
Serving at 4-3 up in the third Osaka faced another break point but came good to go within one game of sealing the match.
She maintained the rage when given the chance to serve things out, staying composed and wrapping up her 6-2 4-6 6-4 victory.
Naomi Osaka is charging toward her second consecutive appearance in a grand slam final.
The Japanese star won the first set against Karolina Pliskova 6-2 as she took command of their semi-final. In a good omen, Osaka has won 58 straight matches after claiming the opening set.
The 21-year-old will be hoping for a repeat of her exploits at last year's US Open, where she defeated Serena Williams in the decider.
Osaka started strongly in the second set too as she hit some blistering winners off her backhand wing. But Pliskova stayed with her opponent as scores were levelled at 3-3.
Pliskova was much improved in the second set, getting more aggressive and taking the game on as she sought to match it with Osaka.
She did more than just match it with her, breaking the No. 4 seed when it countered to win the second set 6-4.
Petra Kvitova has more reason than most to get emotional about being back in a grand slam final, after coming back from a stabbing that almost ended her career at the end of 2016 — but this time she staved off the tears in her post match interview with Jim Courier.
As Courier opened the on-court interview after Kvitova's 7-6 6-0 win over Danielle Collins, Kvitova jumped in with a quick quip.
"You going to make me cry again," she asked the American commentator, before he asked what being back in a slam final for the first time cince 2014 means?
"It means everything. I worked very hard to be in the finals of a major (again) finally I could make it deep in a major and I will enjoy the final and whatever happens I will very, very happy," Kvitova said beforer adding the roof closing under the extreme heat rule helped her.
"I liked the indoors it helped me a little bit."
Kvitova failed to say who she would rather play in the final though, whether that be Karolina Pliskova or Naomi Osaka.
"I think both of them are great and I think Karolina had a great match against Serena. Both of them are playing very aggressive from the baseline," she said.
"I think Karolina is a bigger server but I am not even sure I am going to watch."
After a tight first set Danielle Collins completely fell apart in the second and Petra Kvitova strolled into a third career grand slam final with a 7-6 (7-2) 6-0 victory.
The semi-final bagel will not sit well with Collins, who was a shell of the player she has been all tournament in the second set, after she twice got into arguments with chair umpire Carlos Ramos.
Her problems really began when she was forced to hit a second serve after the net beeper went off as commentators called her "confused and angry".
"She is getting confused now is Danielle Collins," Sam Smith said of the second argument.
"That's a good explanantion from Ramos," added Jim Courier. "She's clearly angry and he's using logic, his logic is sound."
Kvitova, who was much calmer and played much better in the second set is through to the final in what has been a dream Australian summer after winning in Sydney.
She will play either US Open champ Naomi Osaka or countrywoman Karolina Pliskova.
Serena Williams may be gone but chair umpire Carlos Ramos is still here in Melbourne and he's again the centre of controversy.
This time he's earned the ire of Danielle Collins, who has twice gone after the chair umpire over calls.
She first complained that a late correction call made by Ramos on a serve called out by a linesman did not result in her being awarded the point, despite Kvitova being unable to return the first serve.
Ramos said it was because the incorrect linesman call came before Kvitova attempted her return, which he said "hindered" the Czech.
Moments later the umpire's let-detecting device malfunctioned twice with Collins still on serve. The machine beeped before Collins' serve reached the net, resulting in Ramos ordering for the point to be replayed, despite Kvitova being unable to return the serve.
The device malfunctioned again on the next serve, which landed long, but Collins was denied a second attempt at her first serve, despite the beep occurring before the serve landed.
"Why if it's beeping do I lose the serve?" the stroppy Collins complained.
"You made me re-serve the point, even though I won it. And now I just hit the serve out and you're not giving it to me. Do you see what I'm saying?"
Channel 9 commentator Jim Courier responded to the scene by saying: "She's clearly angry and he (Ramos) is using logic."
What a tight opening set.
And we mean that in many ways - firstly neither player really held much of an edge throughout with Collins breaking for an early 3-2 lead before Kvitova broke straight back.
From there it went with serve into the tiebreak as both players made quite the number of errors as nerves took over — the total for the set 34 — 22 for Kvitova, 12 for Collins.
But in the tiebreak it was class that told as Kvitova ran away with it 7-2.
Not without controversy though as Collins fired up at chair umpire Carlos Ramos during the tiebreak over a decision to replay a point when Kvitova was stretched on a first serve that landed in but was initially called out — whether the Czech had a real play on the ball was debatable.
Talk about causing havoc.
Tournament referee Wayne McKewan just walked out onto Rod Laver Arena at 4-4 in the opening set to annouce that the roof is being closed.
That news would be music to the ears of Kvitova, not so much for Collins, who really was favoured by the hot conditions and the roof remaining open.
At 2.50pm tournament officials announced the new heat stress scale tipped over the 5.0 rating needed to stop play on all courts.
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting the mercury to reach 36C in Melbourne.
Under the heat stress policy, the roof on Rod Laver Arena is closed and does not open again during the day session.
All play on outside courts without roofs is stopped indefinitely until the heat stress scale dips below 5.0 again.
Tournament officials earlier came under fire for ignoring the weather forecast and opening the Rod Laver Arena roof just minutes before the start of play just after 2pm.
Additionally things got too hot for the ball-kids with the court so hot they could barely touch the surface.
Australian Open officials have stuck with policy and opened the roof as the mercury in Melbourne soars to 36C on Thursday.
The tournament's official policy aims to make conditions fair and even across every court in Melbourne Park, however, both women's singles semi-finals are scheduled for Rod Laver Arena on Thursday.
The decision to open the roof just minutes before play has seen mixed responses from tennis commentators.
Under the new heat stress scale, which has replaced the old wet bulb temperature rating, play will continue on Thursday despite the first semi-final beginning while the heat stress scale registered a 4.3 out of five.
A score of 4.3 means players are allowed extended 15 minute breaks in between sets. All play is stopped once the scale reaches 5.0 – because the conditions are deemed too dangerous for the players.
The decision to open the roof was described as "inane" by tennis commentator Tumaini Carayol, while Darren Cahill also slammed the decision by Open organisers.
Other tennis commentators believe the decision to open the roof is a huge advantage to unseeded American Danielle Collins in the first semi-final against red-hot Czech Petra Kvitova, who has in the past struggled with extremely hot conditions.
Australian Open officials announced the Collins-Kvitova match will be played under extreme heat rules which will allow players a 10 minute break in between the second and third sets.
On the court Kvitova just managed to break back immediately but needed five chances to do so. Things are now level at 3-3 in the opening set.
On Wednesday night Australian tennis fans were given a taste of what the rest of the world has been enduring for much of Kei Nishikori's career — his body letting him down in a big match.
The Japanese star was hailed by some for his incredible fight as he backed up from three five-set matches earlier in the tournament to take on world number one Novak Djokovic, before succumbing to an apparent leg injury after falling behind 6-1 4-1.
While there's no doubt all that extra time on court took its toll, others — including tennis legend John McEnroe — have frustratedly pointed the finger at the world number nine, saying he had no one to blame but himself for not finishing off the likes of 176th-ranked Kamil Majchrzak and Ivo Karlovic more efficiently and noting his form as one of the most regular retirees on tour.
"Some of this was Kei's fault, he should have put away Karlovic, he should have won his first round match against a qualifier more easily, he didn't, it caught up with him," McEnroe told Today.
"It is sort of like a middleweight playing heavyweights. At a certain point he gives in mentally.
"That is why he hired Chang. Michael wouldn't do that. You could see Michael's dismay, the coach, in the coach's box, 'Why do you have to stop playing?'
"That is not in (Chang's) DNA. He's trying to get that more into Kei, but Kei is more conservative.
"Some guys and girls have higher thresholds for pain than others and they can go out there and compete at a higher level for longer. He is not one of them."
After leaving fans who forked out big money for the night session at Rod Laver Arena fuming, Nishikori attempted to explain his withdrawal.
"Before the match, I was okay," Nishikori said. "Of course, I wasn't, like, fresh, fresh. I thought I was going to be okay. After third game or fourth game when I was serving, I felt pretty heavy to my right leg. After that I couldn't really bend my knees and couldn't jump up. Yeah, I decided to stop.
"I'm sure it comes from my past matches, especially last match. I was moving a lot, waste too much energy. Could be from that and also, yeah, something happen today during the match.
"I was trying. Like I said, after couple games, I couldn't really move, couldn't hit my serve well. Yeah, I don't think even if it's Novak, I couldn't beat anybody with my one leg. It was just too tough."
Despite Serena Williams' insistence her final set fade-out was a result of Karolina Pliskova's incredible play, tennis legend John McEnroe believes the greatest female player of all-time choked.
Williams exited in the quarterfinals despite leading 5-1 in the third set and while noting she was impeded by an ankle turn, McEnroe said the pressure of winning another grand slam — which would equal Margaret Court's record of 24 — also played a part.
"As you get older, you realise you have less opportunity maybe to pull this off. So you put more pressure on yourself," McEnroe said.
"It looked like at the end, the pressure, which is very rare — I didn't think I would be saying this — but the pressure of the moment got to her a bit."
"(It's) a little bit of choking, yeah," he added, when asked if it was a choke. "Let's face it, they're all human beings."
Williams offered a different explanation for failing to convert three match point opportunities. "I literally did everything I could on those match points," she said. "It's not like — yeah, I can't say that I choked on those match points. She literally played her best tennis ever on those shots."
McEnroe was also critical of Japan star Kei Nishikori's retirement in his quarter against Novak Djokovic.
Nishikori withdrew down 6-1 4-1 and drew little sympathy because of his failure to put away early round opponent's more efficiently and record as a serial quitter.
"The guy looked absolutely spent in the warm-up," McEnroe told Today.
"Some of this was Kei's fault, he should have put away Karlovic, he should have won his first round match against a qualifier more easily, he didn't, it caught up with him," McEnroe told Today.
"It is sort of like a middleweight playing heavyweights. At a certain point he gives in mentally.
"That is why he hired Chang. Michael wouldn't do that. You could see Michael's dismay, the coach, in the coach's box, 'Why do you have to stop playing?'
"That is not in (Chang's) DNA. He's trying to get that more into Kei, but Kei is more conservative.
"Some guys and girls have higher thresholds for pain than others and they can go out there and compete at a higher level for longer. He is not one of them."
Rafael Nadal has blasted through the draw without dropping a set, but Stefanos Tsitsipas could be a tougher proposition after he pulled off the win of his life to knock out Roger Federer in four sets in the last 16.
The Spanish second seed, who plays the night match, is wary of the new Greek star, who he called "one of the best players in the world".
But he also declared his own time was not yet up as he chases an 18th Grand Slam title.
"They can wait a little bit," said Nadal of the new kids on the block. "But looks like they don't want to."
Seeded 14, Tsitsipas has plenty of respect for the world number two but is also surging with confidence at his best Grand Slam ever.
"I feel like I can do something good against him," said the 20-year-old.
The second men's semi-final, between six-time winner Novak Djokovic and Lucas Pouille, who is in his first last four match at a major, will played on Friday.
Two-time Wimbledon champion and eighth seed Kvitova faces tournament surprise package Danielle Collins, who stunned world number two Angelique Kerber on her way to her first Slam semi.
The unheralded American has adopted an aggressive approach during her campaign and is looking forward to meeting Kvitova, who beat her at the warm-up Sydney International in three tight sets.
"She's an incredible champion, has gone through a lot," Collins said, referring to the knife attack on Kvitova in December 2016 that almost derailed her career.
"We had a really great battle a couple weeks ago, one of the best matches I've played and I didn't even win. So I'm very familiar with her."
In the second women's semi-final, US Open champion Naomi Osaka takes on dangerous Czech Karolina Pliskova, who sensationally bounced back from 5-1 down in the third set to knock out Serena Williams in the last eight.
The Japanese fourth seed is looking to win back-to-back Grand Slam titles and is expecting a testing encounter from the never-say-die seventh seed.
"She's really tough to play. Like, I can barely read her serve, so it's very difficult for me," she said.
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