Verdasco Chokes in Fifth Against Nadal; Williams Win Doubles at Australian Open
Nadal Outlasts Hot Sauce in Tiring Five-Setter in Aussie Open Semis
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal’s fitness and sometimes-painful knees will be tested in the Australian Open final against Roger Federer after the Spaniard survived a five-set encounter on Friday with countryman Fernando “Hot Sauce” Verdasco, prevailing 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-7(1), 6-4 in the longest recorded match in Australian Open history.
ADHEREL
“I’m feeling very happy more than tired,” Nadal told reporters. “It was one of the best matches in my career…Fernando was playing unbelievable. Today he deserved this win, too.”
Verdasco had only won one set off Nadal in their six previous meetings, but set the tone by capturing the opening set with the aid of a lucky net cord dropping over in the tiebreak. Nadal broke in the 10th game of the second set to eventually even things at one-set all.
Nadal could not hold on to a two-break lead in the third, but finally put the set away in the tiebreak. The fourth set also went to a tiebreak with Nadal seven points from the match, but Verdasco unleashed a flurry on winners to take it to a fifth and deciding set.
Serving at 4-5 in the fifth and past the five-hour mark, Verdasco was undone by nerves. Verdasco double faulted to give Nadal a 40-0 lead, then two points later double faulted on match point.
“Tennis is like this sometimes, no?” Verdasco told reporters on two of his four doubles faults in the match coming in the final game. “What can I do? I was trying the same like in all the other games in the match. But, you know, just to try a good second serve, I played two double-faults.”
Nadal won all four of his meetings with Federer last year, two in Grand Slam finals.
Always one to hold Federer on high, Nadal says the world No. 2 Swiss is the greatest player to ever take the court in Melbourne or any other venue.
“In my opinion he’s already the best in history,” Nadal said. “Always our matches are very tough.”
It will be even tougher for Nadal after the grinder against Verdasco, who says he will be rooting for his countryman.
“Is also a pity that now for Rafa for sure that he won the match that he played that long match for the final, when Roger played one day before and a much shorter match,” Verdasco said of the two semifinals. “It is really a pity. I want him to be 100% to play that final and to try to win. I lost against him. He’s a big friend. I wish him the best of luck in the final. I hope that he will win.”
Williams Wins 8th Slam Doubles at Aussie Open
Sisters Venus and Serena Williams won their eighth Grand Slam doubles title Friday at the Australian Open, defeating Slovak Daniela Hantuchova and Japan’s Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-3.
“It’s definitely as good as the other seven,” Venus Williams told reporters. “We complement each other on the court. We know when the other one moves what the other one needs to do to compensate for that or to add to it.”
Serena said the doubles final was the perfect warm-up for facing Russian Dinara Safina in the Aussie Open singles final.
“It definitely helps my singles,” Serena Williams said. “It improves my volleying, opening up the court, seeing the court better.”
Eight out of the sisters’ 13 career doubles titles have come at Grand Slams: 2009–Australian Open; 2008–Wimbledon, Olympics; 2003–Australian Open; 2002–Wimbledon; 2001–Australian Open; 2000–Wimbledon, Olympics; 1999–Hannover, Roland Garros, US Open; and 1998–Oklahoma City, Zurich.
The Williams sisters have only lost one career doubles final, in 1999 at San Diego.
TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
The winner of the Serena Williams and Dinara Safina final will also become No. 1. The loser No. 2…
Serena Williams has now won more prize money than any other professional female athlete…
Rafael Nadal is 37-3 career vs. left-handed players…
Nadal serving in the fourth set 3-4, 40-30 v. Verdasco is right up there among the best points you will see. The second-to-last point of the second set is also one to remember as is the first point of the fourth set tiebreak…
Melbourne’s Crown Plaza Hotel & Casino, which also is home to Roger Federer, had to be evacuated because of a power outage just prior to the Nadal-Verdasco match…
Serena Williams has 9 career Slam titles, the Safin family 2. Serena has also won 13 Grand Slam matches in a row and she’s reached the last three Slam finals…
Andy Roddick and Roger Federer finished their 3-set match in about the same time Nadal-Verdasco completed two sets…
The second game of the third set took about as long as the third set of Roger Federer-Juan Martin del Potro…
Serena Williams is 9-3 in Grand Slam finals, Dinara Safina is 0-1. Venus, who has also reached 13 Slam finals, is 7-6…
The heat wave has subsided in Melbourne as temps this weekend should be in the mid 90s. Look for the roof to be open for both finals…
Serena Williams is 34-0 at the Australian Open when she wins the first set…
Serena Williams owns 32 career titles, Dinara Safina 9…
2008 Australian Open winner Maria Sharapova will fall out of the WTA Top 10 for the first time since July 5, 2004…
The last No. 1 seed to win a women’s Slam was Justine Henin at the 2007 US Open…
On hardcourts, Serena Williams has won 8 of 9 sets against Dinara Safina…
The 5-hour, 14-minute epic played by Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco was the longest match ever at the Australian Open, and the longest match ever played by both players…
Has a Grand Slam semifinal ever finished after 1am local time?…
Fernando Verdasco hit 96 winners against Nadal. But two double faults in the final game did him in…
Rafael Nadal is 9-3 career in five-set matches…
While the U.S. still can’t get the Williams sisters to play Fed Cup, the defending champ Russians will front Australian Open semifinalist Elena Dementieva and former US Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova against China…
FEDERER NOT THE GREATEST? — Roger Federer says don’t call him the greatest player of all-time, as it is too hard to compare generations. “Probably we’ll never quite know who was the greatest of all time in tennis, and I think that’s quite intriguing as well. Of course, if somebody goes off and wins 35 Grand Slams then you made your point as a player. But still, I think it’s fantastic that they named the centre court after Rod Laver who did so much for tennis. I mean, 14 is more the new generation, the Open era. I could maybe become the greatest of that era, but never of all time. I’m very well aware of that. I think it’s an incredible opportunity to do well.”…
SORRY, DON’T SUE US — Reuters has an apology to make under duress of being sued by British player Robert Dee: “Our report on April 22, 2008, suggested that Robert Dee had not won a professional match in three years and had the worst record in professional tennis. Our report was based on the ITF and ATP definitions of their professional circuits. We accept that during the period Mr Dee won many matches in professional tournaments in Spain, including 20 matches in the previous 12 months alone, and that our story was therefore inaccurate. We apologise to Mr Dee.”…
Former Top 10er Paradorn Srichaphan is undergoing hand/wrist surgery, and the 29-year-old hopes to make a comeback by the second half of 2009…
Dinara Safina says if she beats Serena Williams in the Aussie Open final she will treat herself with a chocolate cake. No word on if Marat gets a piece or not…
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