Nfl

Nadal Advances to Final in Marathon
Posted Jan 30, 2009 9:01 AM
 By PAUL ALEXANDER
(AP)
 Email  Print
Text Size A A A
MELBOURNE, Australia (Jan. 30) - After five arduous hours, Rafael Nadal couldn't hold back the tears when he pulled within a point of making the Australian Open final.
Yet he managed to compose himself and held off Fernando Verdasco in five sets. Verdasco double-faulted after saving two match points, and Nadal won 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (1), 6-4 in the longest match in the tournament's history. Nadal flopped on his back - exhausted and elated - after a match few expected to go long.



The 5-hour, 14-minute semifinal between the Spanish left-handers started at dusk Friday and ended at 1:07 a.m. Saturday.
The top-ranked Nadal advanced to another final against Roger Federer, who is bidding to equal Pete Sampras' record 14 Grand Slam singles titles.
"Today was, yeah, one of these matches you going to remember long time, no?" Nadal said. "Well, the emotion was big."
Especially when the score got to love-40 in the last game.
"I start to cry. ... too much tension," he said.
Nadal can expect more tension on Sunday when he meets Federer for the seventh time to decide a Grand Slam. Nadal has a 4-2 edge highlighted by last year's epic 4:48, five-set win at Wimbledon.
That was a breakthrough for Nadal, who had been all-conquering on clay since winning his first major at Roland Garros in 2005 but lost two Wimbledon finals to Federer. He later won the Olympic gold medal and ended Federer's record string of 237 weeks at No. 1.
The 22-year-old Spaniard couldn't compare the drama of his win over Verdasco with that of ending Federer's five-year reign on grass.
"The final of Wimbledon was the final of Wimbledon," he said, adding that victory was a "little bit more emotional."
Not that he was discounting the struggle against 14th-seeded Verdasco, who had never been beyond the fourth round at a major.
The 25-year-old Verdasco beat No. 4 Andy Murray - tennis' hottest player entering the tournament - in the fourth round and 2008 runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals.
"Verdasco was playing unbelievable," Nadal said. "I think I was very good mentally all the time, believing in the victory."
Nadal said Verdasco was "very tough" and finds it "amazing" to be in the final after such a match.
The scorching heat of the past three days dropped from a high of 45 degrees C (113 F) to 30 (86 F) before this semifinal at Rod Laver Arena.
With the arena's namesake in the crowd, Nadal was clearly tested by Verdasco, who ripped 95 winners. But he remained steadfast, averaging just five unforced errors per set.
For his part, Verdasco thought he might have done his friend a disservice: Nadal was pushed to five sets; Federer needed only straight sets to dispatch Andy Roddick in his semifinal but also got an extra day to rest.
"Really a pity for Rafa for sure that he won the match, that he played that long for the final," said Verdasco, who won the deciding match in Spain's Davis Cup triumph at Argentina last November.
"I want him to be 100 percent to play that final and to try to win," he added. "He's a big friend. I wish him the best of luck."
Serena Williams warmed up for Saturday night's women's final against Dinara Safina by combining with sister Venus to win the doubles title. They beat Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova and Japan's Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-3 under the roof at Melbourne Park.
It was the eighth Grand Slam doubles title and third in Australia for the Williams sisters, who also won the doubles gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
Serena is aiming for her 10th singles major and to continue a sequence that includes an Australian title in every odd-numbered year since 2003.
Also on the line is the No. 1 ranking, something Serena has already held. Safina has never won a major, coming closest with last year's French Open final loss to Ana Ivanovic.
The 22-year-old Russian was trying to emulate her brother, Marat Safin. He won the 2005 Australian title - a day after Williams won her second one - and also held the No. 1 ranking.
Following Serena Williams' match, twins Bob and Mike Bryan were hoping for an American doubles double. The second-seeded Bryan brothers were playing third-seeded Mahesh Bupathi of India and Mark Knowles of Bahamas in the men's final.
Nadal, after his late night and a good sleep, wanted to be on court practicing about 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. Saturday, hoping to get the stiffness out of his legs. He acknowledged it would be tough to recover for his first Grand Slam final on a hard court.
"Roger has a bit of an advantage," said Nadal, who has improved one round in each of his five trips to Australia. "It's tough to sleep after something like this. But it's very important for me to be in this final. Whatever happens on Sunday, I've started the season my best ever."
Nadal had beaten Verdasco in all six previous matches, dropping only one set. He had set a tournament record in advancing through five matches, conceding fewer games (40) than anyone who previously reached the semis of a 128-man draw in Australia.
Verdasco was serving to stay in the match at 4-5 in the fifth. As he wound up for his first serve, the match crossed the previous record of 5:11 that Boris Becker needed to beat Italy's Omar Camporese in the first round in 1991. Becker went on to win the title.
Verdasco had served only two double-faults in the entire match while firing 20 aces, yet gave Nadal triple-match point with his third. He saved two with swinging volleys, then surrendered the match with a fourth double-fault and dropped to his knees.
Nadal got off the ground, and awkwardly crossed the net to hug and congratulate his friend.
"Fernando is playing unbelievable. His serve was amazing - he beat unbelievable players," Nadal said. "He deserves this win, too. I want to congratulate him for everything."
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-01-30 09:42:42

Related Articles

COMMENTS ( 19 )
Page 1 of 2 1 2 Next >>
      Newest First
Forlivingoutloud
5:13PM Jan 30 2009 
oh man... I so wanted Verdasco to beat Nadal...
REPLY RATING
(0 RATINGS)  
Werewright
3:24PM Jan 30 2009 
Roddick has worked very hard to improve his game and should be given credit for doing so. He is just not quite up to the skill level to beat Roger.
REPLY RATING
(0 RATINGS)  
JMG62
1:15PM Jan 30 2009 
Rafa has a rest now and he may start slow, but he'll be a challenge. Having said that, I still pick Federer to take the Title. He's been on the mark all tournament.
No surprise with the Williams sisters in doubles.
I'd wager Serena to take the Title in singles.
REPLY RATING
(3 RATINGS)  
ROSCAVED
1:00PM Jan 30 2009 
I give Nadal credit for gettinng to be number one in the world, beating Federer, no less, and he is still trying to improve his game by adding variety, improving his serve, and so on. Awesome to watch. Vamos Rafa!

http://www.christconnection.net
REPLY RATING
(1 RATINGS)  
BuckDavis124
11:09AM Jan 30 2009 
JohnBolan: Please tell us Azarenka's Tennis Record. I would truly like to know why She should be ranked #1.
REPLY RATING
(1 RATINGS)  
Jsphzhng
10:48AM Jan 30 2009 
ANDY, fussing with the umpire is not going to help u, it would only make u look worse. Your biggest problem is that you just don't have the skills and concentrations to beat any top 5 players right now.
REPLY RATING
(1 RATINGS)  
Jazluvr
9:10AM Jan 30 2009 
Andy Roddick's biggest problem is that he needs to grow up and nix the attitude and ego.
REPLY RATING
(1 RATINGS)  
MMinkina
12:44PM Jan 29 2009 
Roddicks on the right course with the improved fitness. It seems to me that he needs to realize that when you play against the top five players there really is a different level to master. Most notably that high spin sitters don't work against the top five competition. He needs to add the higher level of continuous concentration needed to consistently convert higher risk (ie. flatter) shots needed to be more competitive against the top five competition. Not only that but you must use this strategy from the very beginning of the tournament to be comfortable with the shots in the quarters, semis and finals. To win in Australia Nadal seems to have realized and implemented this type of strategy.
REPLY RATING
(2 RATINGS)  
JOHNBOLAN
12:09PM Jan 29 2009 
Serena has only had one good match (against Dementieva). Victoria Azarenka beat her up in their first set. It is too bad Azarenka got ill and could no longer stand because she is the better player. If Serena somehow manages to beat Dinara, Azarenka should be ranked number 1.
REPLY RATING
(2 RATINGS)  
demzrdopes
6:54AM Jan 29 2009 
enough of this roddick character, it's over, get out.
REPLY RATING
(2 RATINGS)  
Page 1 of 2 1 2 Next >>
GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?
YOU'LL BE ASKED TO REGISTER OR SIGN IN BEFORE POSTING A COMMENT.
Make a Comment
Comment