⇒ Nadal V Federer: VII - Aus Open '09

Federer and Nadal's 7th grand slam final meeting. Only player Nadal has lost to in a grand slam final? Federer (Wimbledon '06, '07). Only player Federer has lost to in a grand slam final? Nadal (Roland Garros '06-'08, Wimbledon '08). Add Aus Open '09 to that, Nadal has triumphed!

7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2

Another amazing match on a surface considered 'neutral' for the two. Nadal is a beast. His like a brick wall, very little gets past him...then there's his attacking...all areas have improved, especially his serving. Three of four matches I can think of being described as 'the best' or 'best ever' (Safin d Federer Aus Open Semi-Final 2005; Nadal d Federer Wimbledon Final 2008; Nadal d Verdasco Aus Open Semi-Final 2009; Nadal d Federer Aus Open Final 2009) have been won by Nadal!

Here's a roundup of headlines and thoughts on the match:
Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer in epic five-set Australian Open final | Rafael Nadal triumphs in an Australian Open classic | | Rafael Nadal triumphs in battle of titans | Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer to claim Aussie Open crown | Rafa Nadal, the king of tennis | Nadal beats Federer to win Australian Open | Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer in epic five-set Australian Open final | Rafael Nadal triumphs in an Australian Open classic | Rafa reigns supreme to claim Aust Open crown | Federer overwhelmed by emotions of big loss | Forty Deuce's Aus Open '09 final highlights | a play-by-play transcript of the final | funny ballkid comment | full Australian Open results here

It should be noted that Nadal spent 10 of his total 18+ tournament hours playing in the final 3 days! Add to that his late finish in the semifinal. Just amazing. See, that's how you do it (I'm looking in your direction quitter Djokovic. Nadal's got heart...never say die, never too much to handle, just do it? Nope, he just did it!

During a fortnight of competition which featured quality players (Andy Roddick, J.M. Del Potro, Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga), dangerous players (Fernando Verdasco, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Gael Mofils, Fernando Gonzales, Tommy Haas), competitive players (Lleyton Hewitt, Tomas Berdych, Marcos Baghdatis) or the best players (Roger Federer, Marat Safin), Nadal emerged King of the Hill (beat Christophe Rochus (R1), Roko Karanusic (R2), Gonzales (R3), Haas (R4), Simon (QF), Verdasco (SF) and Federer (F)).

Now he's got a chance to exceed Federer--a calendar year grand slam--he's the only person likely to win the French (again), a strong Wimbledon contender, and he just won a hardcourt grand slam, so why not the US Open?

Such a loss is tough for Federer but if Federer really is the greatest of all time, he needs to act like it, learn from defeat, come back stronger and take apart Nadal's game. Every time Nadal loses and goes away, he comes back stronger, better and with new weapons. Federer needs to do this to get to and exceed 14 slams. Only by rightfully earning victory over Nadal in grand slams will be be the greatest. You only become the best if you beat the best.

top three players of the tournament (IMO):

1. Rafael Nadal (ESP) - beat Verdasco in the semis, beat Federer in the final, played unbelievably for the whole tournament (unbelievable defense and court coverage), showed professionalism, grace and sportsmanship.


2. Fernando Verdasco (ESP) - kicked serious ass to reach the 4th round (dropped just 14 games), scalped Andy Murray (GBR) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) en route to a brutal semi-final with Nadal which went down to the wire!


3. Roger Federer (SUI) - recapturing his great form, great match with Berdych (CZE) in the 4th round, routing #8 seed J.M. Del Potro (ARG) and Andy Roddick (USA) in quarterfinals and semis, battling Nadal all the way.

on the women's side, only Jelena Dokic held my attention. An amazing run, she arose from the ashes of controversies past like a phoenix. Serena Williams may have won, but that's because the field she competed against was rather flat--even her own game was terribly flat up until the final.

Again, congrats to the top 3 players of the tournament for a great show and bringing their A+ game, but the victory belongs to Rafa. Vamos Rafa

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