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Rafael Nadal bundled arch-rival Roger Federer out of the Australian Open last night 6-7 6-2 7-6 6-4 to book a finals berth against either Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray on Sunday at Melbourne Park.
The win took the Spaniard to a 18-9 head-to-head lead over Federer who will be kicking himself for losing a titanic tussle he should have won.
Federer did win the first set in a tie-breaker, but it should have been a lot easier than that, having broken Nadal’s opening serve.
The way these two play beyond mere mortals, a service break is a treasured goldmine. But Federer let it slip.
Federer broke Nadal again at the start of the second set, and was immediately broken back. From 2-2, Nadal won four successive games as Federer fell apart.
Nadal-itis.
In the third set Federer led 4-1, but lost in a tie-breaker where he was down 6-1 but clawed his way back to 6-5, only to lose the next point, and the set.
In the fourth set Federer butchered all three break points, Nadal converted one of five to take the set and match 6-4.
This was one that got away from Federer. Both played exceptional tennis, best summed up by two-time US Open champion Pat Rafter, sidelining as a Channel 7 commentator.
“I don’t watch much tennis these days, but this is exciting. I want to stand up and applaud, their retrieving is unbelievable,” he said.
But it was Nadal who won the critical points, as the match stats show:
Aces – Federer 11-4.
Double faults – Federer 5-1.
Unforced errors – Federer 63-34.
Winners – Federer 46-36.
Break point conversions – Nadal 6 of 16 (38%), Federer 3 of 10 (30%).
Total points won – Nadal 146-130.
The unforced errors killed any chance Federer had of making a 24th Slam final. Nadal has the mocka sign on Switzerland’s favourite son and he can’t shake it off.
In their last four Slam meetings Nadal has come out on top each time.
The win means Nadal joins Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Ivan Lendl, and Andre Agassi, as the only players to have reached at least two finals of every Slam.
But even though he lost last night, nobody will ever match Federer’s record of reaching at least five finals of every Slam.
Nor 24 Slam semis, that included 10 in a row, nor 31 consecutive Slam quarter finals.
If only Roger Federer could overcome Nadal-itis.