World number one Rafael Nadal won his first Australian Open title and sixth Grand Slam title after outplaying world number two Roger Federer in the men's final in the Melbourne Park on Sunday.
Nadal, the French Open, Wimbledon and Olympic champion, finally made breakthrough at the hard court Grand Slam, taming three-times winner Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-2 after battling for four hours and 23 minutes.
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Rafael Nadal of Spain bites his trophy after the men's singles final against Roger Federer of Switzerland at Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Feb. 1, 2009. Nadal won the match 3-2. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
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The victory, which moved the Spaniard's career record against Federer to an awe-inspiring 13-6, also denied the Swiss the chance to tie Pete Sampras' all-time record of 14 Grand Slam singles titles, a feat he had been hoping to achieve in his 39th major final.
"It is very special for me. it is a dream to win here, one Grand Slam on hard court. I worked very hard all my life to improve the tennis outside clay. I am very happy for the title," said Nadal, who won a fourth straight French Open and grabbed the Wimbledon from the Swiss last year.
"Today was really lot of emotions on court. I was there with the best player I ever saw. Everything was very special.
"I am sorry for Roger because it was a tough moment for him today. I know how tough must be there in the important situation for him. But, you know, he's a great champion. He's the best. And he's, for sure, very important person in the sport," added the 22-year-old Spaniard, who has defeated Federer for a third straight time in Grand Slam finals.
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Roger Federer of Switzerland sheds tears during the awarding ceremony after the men's singles final against Rafael Nadal of Spain at Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Feb. 1, 2009. Nadal won the match 3-2. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
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Federer, 27, might have felt he had a much better chance this time after the huge physical effort Nadal made in the epic semifinal win over compatriot Fernando Verdasco, but it just did not work in his way.
"This is for sure one of the matches in my career where I feel like I could have or should have won. But you can't go through your whole life as a tennis player taking every victory," said Federer, who could not help breaking into wild tears at the award ceremony.
"You've got to live with those defeats. But they hurt even more if you're that close, like at Wimbledon or like here at the Australian Open."
Nadal and Federer both looked nervy at the start of the first set, exchanging break twice to tie the game at 4-4. Nadal finally took the advantage of some sloppy play of the Swiss super star to take a decisive break in the eleventh game and held serve firmly in the next before drawing the first blood at 7-5.
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Rafael Nadal of Spain gestures to the crowd after the men's singles final against Roger Federer of Switzerland at Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Feb. 1, 2009. Nadal won the match 3-2. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
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Both players started to hit top gear in the second set, despite exchanging break again in the fourth and fifth game.
Federer, clearly looking more dangerous, pushed the Spaniard to his limits and finally converted on the fifth break point opportunity of the eighth game to build up a comfortable 5-3 lead.
After claiming the second set at 6-3, the Swiss was gaining momentum on his side, threatening to take another break in the eleventh game of the third set, only for an undaunted Nadal to hold serve after beating three break points.
After Federer holding serve in the next game, the set was dragged into the tie-break, where Nadal won at 7-3.
The momentum was then switched to the side of Federer, who won the fourth set at 6-3. However, Federer never looked comfortable in the final set, dropping serve twice to lose at 6-2.
