Nadal defeates Verdasco in a 5 set Thriller to face Federer in Finals

Well Federer advanced to Finals yesterday with a dominating victory over Andy Roddick of USA. Now today the second semi Finals had two left Handed Spaniards facing each other for a spot to stop Federer from winning his 14th Grand Slam.

I solemnly swear that I never thought that Verdasco would never give a fight to the World Number one. But What happened in Melbourne Park was something I cant describe in words. The match which had 5 sets, 3 Tie breaks, spanning over 5 hours and 14 minutes was certainly a match of Lifetime for both the players.

Comparing it would be Unfair but It certainly was the best Tennis match I have ever seen. Verdasco gave the Number one A run for his money. He took the first set 7-6 then he lost the next two 4-6 and 6-7 but then after almost 3 hours the two players never lost their breathe, never shouted in frustration or nothing.

It was just PURE TENNIS. Verdasco came back from no where and won the 4th set Tiebreak 7-1. Then in the after 4 hours of DIE HARD tennis there were TWO CHAMPIONS standing there but the painful result of this game is some has to lose and it was Verdasco.


And the sadful part was When verdasco was serving 4-5 he gave a double fault at 0-30 to give 3 break points. He survived 2 of them with some amazing volleys but then came the saddest part of this great match. Verdasco double faulted again to give Nadal the Victory and also the right to stop Federer from winning that 14th title.

The Spanish top seed beat compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6-7
6-4 7-6 6-7 6-4 in a five hour 14 minute contest which started
on Friday but did not finish until the early hours of Saturday.

"Right now I'm feeling more happy than tired," Nadal said in
a courtside interview.

"For sure it will be tough to play the final in another day.
My opponent will be difficult because Roger is always very
tough.

"It was amazing for me. Playing this match with an
unbelievable atmosphere. Thank you very much, it was one of my
best matches in my career."

Verdasco had lost all six previous meetings between these
two left-handers. Under the floodlights he clobbered 95 clean
winners and became the first player here this year to take sets
off the seemingly invincible Iberian.

He was ultimately unable to improve his miserable
head-to-head record, though, handing Nadal the victory when he
double-faulted on match point.

"That's a lot... too much I think," Nadal said of the number
of clean winners which flew past him.

"Fernando was playing unbelievable. His serve was amazing,
so, I think it's his best tournament in his career. He played
unbelievable. Today he deserved this win too so I want to
congratulate him."

Federer enjoyed a day off as Nadal toiled deep into the
night. The Swiss reached the final on Thursday evening, blasting
Andy Roddick off court 6-2 7-5 7-5 to reach his 18th grand slam
final and fourth one here.

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AUSSIE OPEN DAY 8 : Murray Ousted!

Andy Murray was one of the strong contenders for winning the title this time at the Australian open but he went out of the Grandslam in the 4th round itself without doing much damage to the top contenders.

And the man who defeated him is Spain's Fernando Verdasco 2-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. It was a tough fought match with some amazing tennis being played by both competitors.

Murray said he, too, hasn’t been feeling well the last few days, though he refused to use it as an excuse.

“I don’t feel that was the reason why I lost,” Murray said. “I definitely did have my chances, and he played too well. I’m disappointed that I lost. But I’ll try and learn from it. It’s not a disaster. I’m still playing well. I lost to a good player in a very close match. I’ll have more chances to win Grand Slams.”

Murray saved two match points after falling behind 40-0 in the last game but wasn’t able to fend off a third, dumping a backhand into the net.

Murray, who lost in the U.S. Open final last year to Roger Federer, was attempting to become the first British man since 1936 to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, left 2007 runner-up Fernando Gonzalez feeling out of sorts with another dominating performance in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win. He has yet to drop a set and next faces the sixth-seeded Simon, who advanced when fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils retired with a wrist injury.

“I am playing well, but you never know if it’s going to be enough,” said Nadal, who had 33 winners and just 11 unforced errors.

Fifth seed Jo Wilfried-Tsonga produced an explosive performance that rivalled an overhead fireworks display to beat James Blake in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Monday.

Tsonga, last year’s beaten finalist, won the match 6-4 6-4 7-6 to set up a quarter-final with Fernando Verdasco, who had earlier beaten British fourth seed Andy Murray while Giles Simon defeated Compatriot Gael Monfils 6-4 2-6 6-1

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AUSSIE OPEN DAY 8 | Womens: Serena survives a scare

Elena Dementieva, made the quarterfinals for the first time in 11 years at Melbourne Park with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova.Elena was all over Cibulkova with her blashing forehands and cross hands.

Williams was the biggest beneficiary of the wave of retirements. She lost the first set to 13th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and was so frustrated with her first serve that she cursed it, earning a warning for a verbal obscenity. The 19-year-old Azarenka, who woke up sick, had to quit in the second set.

Williams, seeking a 10th Grand Slam singles title, next plays 2004 U.S. Open champion Kuznetsova, who advanced when Zheng Jie of China retired at 4-1 in the first set. They are the only major winners still in the women’s draw.

No. 22 Zheng, hoping for victory on Chinese New Year, injured her left wrist when she tumbled after the third game. She had treatment immediately but retired two games later and will go for X-rays Tuesday.

Carla Suarez Navarro, the 20-year-old Spaniard who had an upset win over seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams in the second round, beat No. 21 Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-2.

She next plays Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva, who made the quarterfinals for the first time in 11 years at Melbourne Park with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova.

The fourth-seeded Dementieva, who reached the finals at the French and U.S. Opens in 2004 but has not been to a Grand Slam championship match since, extended her winning streak to 14 matches. She won two titles in tuneup events.
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AUSSIE OPEN DAY 7 | Federer comesback from 0-2 in a thrilling 5 setter

After the first two sets in the 4th round Match between Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych at Melbourne Park, the whole world thought that it was going to be the biggest upset of the Tournament so far as Federer lost the two sets 4-6 6-7 but after 2 hours the same world realized why Federer has 13 Grandslams in his kitty!

The King of Tennis came back from 2 sets down to win the match 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. Truly the class of a Champion. No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 winner over No. 19 Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Defending Champ Novak Djokovic defeated Marcos Bagdatis 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-7 (5), 6-2 while Andy Roddick cruised past Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-1, 6-3

“You’ve got to hang in there, there’s no other solution,” Federer said. “… Tried to weather the storm. He was hitting the ball so heavy and so hard. He pushed me to the limit.”

A massive upset result loomed in the late afternoon when 20th-seeded Berdych was on top for the first two sets, working Federer around with powerful forehands to keep the Swiss star on the defensive. He consistently targeted Federer’s backhand with his powerful, kicking serve.

But Federer started finding his range and rallied in the third set and the momentum, already shifting toward him as Berdych’s errors mounted, really shifted his way at the start of the fourth set.

Berdych recovered from double breakpoint to deuce, and Federer got another breakpoint on a close line call. Berdych wanted to challenge, but no replay was available due to a technical glitch, so the call stood. Berdych argued with the chair umpire to no avail with the crowd breaking out in jeers, then netted a forehand to fall behind for the only break of the set.

Federer led 4-0 in the fifth but, serving at 5-2, nervously squandered double match point then double-faulted to give Berdych a break chance.

He forced deuce, fired back-to-back aces—the last was No. 20 for the match — then leapt in the air with a big “Yes!”

“I enjoy those kind of fights. It doesn’t happen all the time. It’s always special,” Federer said. “I hope it’s a good omen. I feel like I could play a couple more sets, so that’s a good sign.”

Federer has won 13 Grand Slam singles titles, one short of Pete Sampras’ record.

Federer will face No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 winner over No. 19 Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic wasn’t pushed while taking a 5-0 lead, then had to work hard for a 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-7 (5), 6-2 victory over 2006 runner-up Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.


Andy Roddick improved his career record against Tommy Robredo of Spain to 10-0 and advanced to the Australian Open quarterfinals.

The seventh-seeded Roddick beat Robredo 7-5, 6-1, 6-3 on Sunday, staying on track for a semifinal appearance for the fourth time in seven years.

Federer will face No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 winner over No. 19 Marin Cilic of Croatia.
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AUSSIE OPEN DAY 7 | Womens: Top seed out!

The shaky situation of the Women draw in the Australian open 09 continued even today as the Top seed Jelena Jankovic crashed out of the tournament following her compatriot Ana Ivanovic who went out yesterday and Venus Williams the day before.

Melbourne Park shook with an explosion of home-town roars, however, when Yugoslav-born Australian wildcard Jelena Dokic buried years of personal pain to reach the quarter-finals of the first grand slam of the year.

Jankovic was totally denied a chance by Marion Bartoli of France 6-1 6-4. The French women who wasw a Former Wimbledon finalist totally dominated the match winning it comfortably.

Melbourne Park shook with an explosion of home-town roars, however, when Yugoslav-born Australian wildcard Jelena Dokic buried years of personal pain to reach the quarter-finals of the first grand slam of the year.

The 25-year-old, whose split from domineering father Damir and subsequent struggle with severe depression and injuries was played out in front of the world’s media, wiped tears from her eyes after her 7-5 5-7 8-6 win over Russian Alisa Kleybanova.


No. 3 Dinara Safina had a narrow escape in the subsequent match, saving match points before fending off another French woman, Alize Cornet, in three. Safina, who was down 5-3 and 40-15 with Cornet serving for the match, rallied to win 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals here for the first time.

In another encounter No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, defeated No. 10 Nadia Petrova 7-5, 6-4 in an all-Russia match.
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