RAFAEL Nadal and Roger Federer will share centre stage tomorrow in a vintage Australian Open final, after the Spaniard sealed an epic five-set victory over Grigor Dimitrov.
Nadal triumphed yesterday 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 after just short of five hours on Rod Laver Arena. His reward is another meeting with Federer – arguably his greatest rival – in an intoxicating showdown in Melbourne.
Dimitrov threatened to derail that dream reunion by twice coming from behind to force a decider, but Nadal was relentless and powered his way through to his 21st major final. Tomorrow will be his first showpiece since he won the French Open three years ago.
A meeting with Federer will be viewed as the perfect closing chapter to a throwback Australian Open, which now boasts four singles finalists aged 30 or older – a first for a grand slam in the Open era.
Venus Williams, 36, and sister Serena, 35, will fight it out for the women’s title today, in a replay of the finals bill at Wimbledon nine years ago.
That same year, Nadal defeated Federer 9-7 in the fifth set, in what is widely considered the greatest match the sport has seen. Few would have predicted at that time that the pair would be meeting again for their ninth grand slam final, 34 major tournaments later.
Nadal will be chasing his 15th grand slam title to edge one closer to Federer, who stands on the brink of claiming his 18th triumph.
“It’s a privilege,” said Nadal of his date with the Swiss. “It’s a very special thing for both of us to be in the final of a major again and have the chance to compete against each other after a couple of years out with some problems.
“It was a moment we never thought we were ever going to have again, to be in the final in Australia, so we both feel very happy,” he added.
Nadal will tomorrow also be bidding to win the Australian Open title for the second time in his career, a feat which would make him the first man in the Open era to win all four grand slam titles twice.
The Spaniard was nearly undone by Dimitrov yesterday, the 25-year-old coming close to reaching his first major final. Indeed, he showed why so many observers still consider him to be a multiple champion of the future.
Dimitrov will likely look back on three break points missed in the fifth set and wonder what might have been.
However, the match was not so close at the start, as an angled volley sealed the first set for Nadal, who had made just two unforced errors and won 18 of 20 points on his first serve. Dimitrov could do little but wait.
His time came in the second set. As Nadal served to stay in the set at 5-4, Dimitrov had four set points but struggled to get over the line.
Nadal saved the first with a thumping forehand and the last with an ace, but in between Dimitrov was too generous, as two unforced errors helped his opponent to hold.
But Dimitrov recovered and came again two games later to finally grab the set.
At 6-5 in the third, with Nadal serving for a tie-break, there was a six-minute delay while a spectator required medical attention. When the match resumed, Nadal powered into the tie-break and took the set.
Neither player let up in the fourth, thrashing the ball from one end to the other in an awesome baseline battle, but no breaks meant again a tie-break would settle it. This time, Dimitrov moved 5-2 clear and then a cool backhand volley gave him three set points. A thundering serve sent the match to a decider.
Both men fought on heartily before Nadal delivered an ace for match point. Dimitrov saved it – then repeated the feat as Nadal blasted back – but could not hold out. His weary backhand drifted past the baseline as Nadal sank to his knees in relief.
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