Inder's Sports Blog: Jan 26, 2012

Rafael Nadal ripped open old wounds to shatter Roger Federer once more and reach his 15th grand slam final at the Australian Open on Thursday night.

Nadal rallied from a set and a service break down to bludgeon his way to a 6-7 (7-5) 6-2 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 triumph in a compelling 27th instalment of world sport's greatest individual rivalry.

Three years after producing the first five-set final at Melbourne Park in almost a quarter of a century, Nadal and Federer staged another breathtaking encounter before a capacity Australia Day crowd at Rod Laver Arena.
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And again, for the eighth time in 10 grand slam showdowns between the two tennis giants, Nadal imposed his mental and physical will over Federer to prevail, just as he had in the riveting 2009 championship decider which reduced the Swiss to tears.

This latest defeat will also cut deep.

Apart from booking a place in Sunday night's final with either defending champion and world No.1 Novak Djokovic or not-yet-Great Scot Andy Murray, Nadal improved his winning record over the all-time grand slam title leader to 18-9.

Nadal has now advanced to four consecutive major finals - only the eighth man to achieve the feat in the professional era - having lost the past two at the US Open and Wimbledon to Djokovic after reigning in Paris.

But the indomitable Spaniard had to snap Federer's 22-match winning streak the hard way to extend his hot run on the sport's biggest stages.

Playing his record 30th grand slam semi-final, Federer made a blistering start, breaking Nadal in his opening service game of the match with a smoking backhand winner.

He forged ahead 3-0, but Nadal responded with a forehand pass to get back on serve at 4-4.

Federer, though, regained the initiative when he clinched the vital first-set tiebreaker when Nadal overcooked a backhand after the Swiss produced a sublime backhand half-volley drop shot for the mini break.

Federer broke Nadal to love in the opening game of the second set, but Nadal replied with a love-break himself the very next game before showcasing extraordinary retrieving skills to go ahead 4-2.

First, the freakish left-hander brought up three break points with an astonishing running forehand cross-court pass from four metres outside the tram lines - or from "nearly his player's box", as Lleyton Hewitt put it from the commentary bunker.

He then sealed the break with an amazing backhand down-the-line pass from metres behind the baseline.

If he wasn't already unsettled, Federer was when play resumed after a 10-minute break for the Australia Day fireworks display.

When play continued, Federer, trailing 5-2, immediately coughed up his first double-fault before dropping serve to love to allow Nadal back on level terms at a set apiece.

Federer grabbed another early break in the third set, but was again unable to capitalise as Nadal hit back and nabbed the tiebreaker on his sixth set point.

Only Hewitt at the height of his powers at the 2005 Open had ever before conquered Nadal from two sets to one down at a slam and not even the mighty Federer could find a way back.

Pulling off all sorts of impossible winners, Nadal broke the 16-times major winner for a sixth and final time for a 5-4 advantage and closed out the contest on his third match point after three hours and 42 minutes.

Article Source: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/nadal-beats-federer-to-make-open-final-20120126-1qk1c.html

Inder's Sports Blog

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Nadal beats Federer to make Open final

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