SB Nation Australian Open Tennis 2012
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In the men's semifinals of the 2012 Australian Open, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer had yet another instant classic. This time, it was Nadal who came out on top, advancing to the finals in four grueling sets.
Nadal, who has been dealing with a knee injury the entire tournament, had this to say after the match, according to SI.com:
If you tell me that two Sundays ago, I really cannot imagine. For me, it's a dream to be back in a final of the Australian Open.
Courtney Walsh of The Australian had more comments from Nadal following his victory over Federer, who he referred to as "the greatest of all time."
To play against Roger is an honor. I think it was another fantastic match.
He was also asked about the other semifinals match between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, which has yet to be played.
I think both players are playing fantastic. Novak is playing fantastic and is coming with confidence. Andy, if he wants to win that match, he has to play more aggressive than usual. That is my advice, but that is probably not great as I have lost the last six matches against him.
For more on the tournament, visit our tennis hub.
And in the 27th meeting, it was Rafael Nadal who came out the victor.
Three hours into their semifinal match, Nadal misleadingly led Roger Federer two sets to one, but it had been a much closer match throughout (minus the 6-2 second set). Nadal held on to win the match in four sets, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
For Federer, it was his first loss on tour since his last Grand Slam semifinal, when eventual U.S. Open champion Novak Djokovic dispatched the Swiss. Nadal improves to 18-9 in his career against Federer.
Nadal will face the winner between the tournament's No. 1 seed, Novak Djokovic, and No. 4 Andy Murray.
Here's a look back at the final set:
Nadal raises his hands in the air as he shouts, but he won't fall to his knees. He'll save that for if he wins the next match because Nadal is onto the finals.
They hadn't met in a Grand Slam that wasn't a final since the French Open in 2005 but Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were tied at a set a piece in the 2012 Australian Open semifinals.
This winner. That winner.
Nadal stays on serve. 1-0 Nadal.
Nadal rolled ahead winning 11 consecutive points since the firework break that paused the second set at 5-2 in Nadal's favor. He then hit a forehand wide then a backhand in the net, then barely touched a striking forehand from Federer. Nadal watched three break points slip away and Federer eventually won the game after winning on his advantage. 1-1.
Nadal served better. Federer guessed wrong on Nadal's shot placement and Nadal stayed on serve after winning four straight points. 2-1 Nadal
Before I could type anything about the game, it was over. Four straight points. 2-all.
Nadal started off the game winning his 12th consecutive point on his serve before he hit the ball long on what would have been the 13th consecutive point. Federer made the error on the next three points. 3-2 Nadal.
Five points. Backhand volley winner. Backhand wide by Nadal. Backhand in the net by Nadal. Federer double fault. Then on the sixth point, cheers and murmurs midpoint during a classic point between the two former World No.1s as they battled for the point. Eventually, Federer wins the game. 3-all.
And that's when the rhythm of the match reestablished itself. The court began to widen for both players as they rallied, winning off too-good of shots that were unreachable by the other. Offense. Defense. Offense. Defense. It changed quicker then the ball could pass across the net. There are too many words to describe this game. After 26 head-to-head matches, there were no trick plays, just pure point-for-point rallies and lots of rhythm changes. Deuce. Ad Federer. Deuce. Ad Federer. Deuce. Ad Federer. After four break points, Federer converted. 4-3 Federer.
Nadal breaks back. 4-all.
A little over two hours and 10 minutes have passed and there's a 22-shot rally. It ends with a Federer shot in the net. A point later Nadal holds onto his serve. 5-4 Nadal.
Federer's service game starts off with two points that are ended by a Nadal forehand in the net. It's 40-15 in Federer's favor. Nadal's scrambling to the net after Federer it's a cross court volley. Rafa pops it up and Nadal slams a back hand volley to the open court. Game. 5-all.
Oh, look Kim Clijsters. Despite being knocked from the tournament just a few hours before by 22-year-old Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, Clijsters is in the stands to watch the semifinal match between the tournament's No. 2 and No. 3 seeds.
Rafa's serve. 15-love. 15-all. 15-30. Rafa's momentum. Fed's momentum. Rafa. Fed. Rafa's game. 6-5 Rafa.
Set point Nadal, but Federer attacks with a forehand winner. Even the crowd seems slap happy when they begin cheering for the ball boy who catches the ball that Federer hits to him with some strength. Federer holds. 6-6. Time for tiebreak No. 2.
Nadal's up two mini-breaks. 5-1. An unforced error by Federer. Almost three hours in to the semifinal match. Five set points for Nadal. Federer strikes a clean winner off his backhand. The Fed saves two set points off his opponent's serve. The Swiss fights off three set points. An ace. Four set points saved by Federer, but he can't make it five.
Nadal wins the set.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal started off the second set by breaking each other's serve.
With Nadal serving at 1-1, a stat appeared on the screen. The player who won the first set in the last 17 of 19 meetings had won the match between the two former World No.1s. Nadal served out the game with a serve out wide to Federer's backhand to bring him back on serve and up 2-1.
The most Federer had to move on his serve was to finish off the game with an easy floater just inside the service line which he drilled cross court with his forehand. 2-2.
The next game brought some short rallies, some long rallies and look of disgusts from both players' faces as they pushed the game to 40-all. Nadal converted on his serve, winning the game on his advantage when Federer missed long. 3-2 Nadal.
An epic Nadal-Federer moment came with Nadal up 30-love on Federer's serve. Running across the baseline of the court, Federer came in for a backhand volley that he hit in an extreme cross court angle to the open right side of the court. Nadal scurried across the court and ripped a forehand past a flailing Federer. Three points later, he passed Federer at the net again to break Federer's serve. 4-2 Nadal.
With a cross court winner and his pace, Nadal held on to his serve. 5-2 Nadal.
Then. Fireworks.
No literally. In honor of Aussie Day, the match took a 10-minute break to shoot of their fireworks display. They held the fireworks off until that point in the match.
My tennis writing is no match for fireworks so we'll leave it at, Nadal breezed through the next game to take the set, 6-2.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have faced each other 26 times before their semifinal Australian Open match.
There are no secrets. The former World No. 1 stretched and hustled like it was their first head-to-head match, making the match seem like there was more at stake then a trip to the finals Down Under.
Despite Federer jumping out to a 4-1 lead by stretching, bending and just plain finding the extra inch on the court, Nadal struck back by doing what one would expect of a former world No. 1 - he made the shots, the angles, the winners that seemed mathematically impossible to make. Nadal served four-straight points to tie the match at 4-4-.
After Nadal made a few unforced errors, Federer quickly made the match 5-4. He served out the game with the ace.
Then, the Spaniard breezed through four straight points to even the score again at 5-all.
Through solid and sound shots, and an unforced error by Nadal in the net, the Swiss raised the Spaniard one game, taking the match to 6-5 in Federer's favor.
In a crowd-roaring first point that brought Federer to his knees, Nadal began his rally to push the match to a tiebreak and he did.
The tiebreaker started with Federer being up 2-0 before Nadal's serve overpowered his backhand to make it 2-1. Nadal made an unforced error when he drilled the ball into the net to make it 3-1 in Federer's favor. The first challenge of the night came when Federer's first serve was called out. He won the challenge and then served an ace. 4-1 Federer. Nadal had Federer running corner to corner in the next point and won it with a forehand winner. 4-2 Federer. Nadal served again. Federer challenged it, thinking the ball was out. The ball just nicked the line of the T and Federer lost the point. Federer snuck in on both of the next points, reading Nadal's slide drops and pushed the tiebreaker to 6-3. Three set points were in Federer's favor. Nadal fought off two of those set points before he hit a backhand deep to give Federer the tiebreaker and the first set.
By the end of the first set, Federer had won 38 points to Nadal's 34.
Each ATP player had converted on their one break-point opportunity but Federer found the open court more with 15 winners to Nadal's 9.
Federer is in search of his 17th Grand Slam title. Rafael Nadal is in search of his 11th. And after the first set, Federer is one set closer to being one of two men remaining in the 2012 Australian Open.
Heading into the third set, it seemed the match was getting away from Maria Sharapova. She came out and ran away with the first set, putting Petra Kvitova away 6-2 after it opened back-and-forth. But in the second, she lost her serve as the wheels came off, leading to a 6-3 set in favor of Kvitova. It seemed like momentum was in Kvitova's favor.
In the third, it was a game of who could actually hold the serve, instead of the typical battle to break. Sharapova went down 2-1, following a Kvitova break point, but rallied right back with a break of her own. With the set knotted at two, one had to wonder if Sharapova could actually find her serve and hold.
She did just that, but it was a battle, filled with displays of emotion from both players. The game went to deuce before Sharapova took the advantage and came up big to hold serve. A long return caught the baseline and Kvitova's return was wide, giving Sharapova a 3-2 lead in the set and a bit of momentum going forward.
Kvitova held her serve, then put Sharapova on the ropes with two break point chances in the seventh game. Down 15-40, Sharapova rallied back, forcing deuce. After the game flipped back-and-forth between deuce and advantages, Sharapova took advantage and was close it out, thwarting multiple break point chances along the way.
At 4-4, Sharapova again ran into trouble, but battled back as she did before to take the game, holding her serve and pushing the third set to 5-4. And then, Sharapova earned a double match point, taking a 40-15 lead in the 10th game. There was little drama in the ensuing rally as the two traded shots before Kvitova's return went long, giving Sharapova the 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win and a trip to the finals.
Sharapova will meet Victoria Azarenka, who defeated Kim Clijsters earlier, in the finals.
Follow along with the semifinal matchups of the 2012 Australian Open in this StoryStream. For more on the tournament, visit our tennis hub.
The second set of the 2012 Australian Open semifinal matchup between Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova stood in complete contrast to the first. Where Sharapova dominated the first set, turning 2-2 into a 6-2 win, Kvitova fired right back and seemed to figure something out right from the start of the second. She put Sharapova on the ropes quickly and the only question seemed to be how quickly she'd finish the job.
Kvitova raced out to a 3-0 lead before Sharapova finally got her bearings, staggering from a daze to mount some kind of challenge. It didn't last long, though Sharapova manged to take three games to make the set somewhat respectable. But with a 5-3 lead, Kvitova had plenty of chances to force a decisive third set.
And she did just that in the ninth game, completely dominating Sharapova and finishing the set with a flurry. As she stood up 40-0, Kvitova ripped an ace past Sharpova, finishing the set and forcing a third, 6-3.
Along the way, Sharapova seemed to lose her serve, which is worth keeping an eye on in the third set. She struggled early and often, especially on her first serve. It hasn't been able to find the mark with regularity as the match has worn on, which could spell disaster in a hurry as they battle for a berth in the finals.
Follow along with the semifinal matchups of the 2012 Australian Open in this StoryStream. For more on the tournament, visit our tennis hub.
The beginning of the 2012 Australian Open semifinal matchup between Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova followed a pattern that stood out. Both players held serve and traded breaks, creating an even match right from the start, and perhaps signaling what's to come.
Tied at 2-2, with each player converting their only break point chances, Sharapova took the advantage, breaking Kvitova's serve in the fifth game to take a 3-2 advantage. It was Sharapova's second shot at a break and second conversion, keeping her perfect for the match.
And yet, after the match started looking fairly even, Sharapova hit the gas pedal and put it to the floor. Quickly, the 3-2 set turned into 5-2 as Sharapova overwhelmed Kvitova and set herself up in prime position to easily take the first set.
In the eighth game, Sharapova continued her run, taking advantage of her second chance to close the second. With a bending serve, she left Kvitova flat-footed, earning the game and the set to take a 1-0 advantage, 6-2.
Follow along with the semifinal matchups of the 2012 Australian Open in this StoryStream. For more on the tournament, visit our tennis hub.
Victoria Azarenka's shrieks continued into the third set.
She survived a break point to get her first lead since the first set then powered through the second game and broke Kim Clijster's serve on four-straight points. Fist pumps and shrieks continued to fuel Azarenka's game, but Clijsters broke back, thanks in part to an Azarenka double fault.
Down on her own serve with the games tied at 2-2, Clijsters stood on the other side of the net from Azarenka as she thrust another fist pump toward the tournament's defending champion.
Until Clijsters snuck in and dropped a backhand slice volley in an extreme cross court - and stared across the court. But then she double faulted the game away to give Azarenka the break. Their nerves seemed to flip flop with their service games.
Then unforced errors crept in for Clijsters. After five games, Azarenka led 4-1. The match momentum was in Azarenka's favor, but what about the nerves? What about Clijsters' experience?
Well, they dueled. Through four deuces and a 10-minute game Clijsters broke Azarenka to bring the defending champion back into the third set, 4-3.
As the commentators said, Azarenka wanted to get through to her first Grand Slam, but Clijsters wanted to keep her title.
With much of the crowd against her, Azarenka finished off the set with two match points. Clijsters hit a backhand wide to end the match in two hours and 12 minutes to end their semifinal match with a final score of 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in the 22-year-old Belarusian's favor.
Kim Clijsters, the tournament's defending champion, opened the second set by holding serve. She then broke opponent Victoria Azarenka's serve in four-straight points. Clijsters came out hitting with the same precision she had in the first set, but Azarenka seemed to have a lapse in momentum.
With each long rally and each long rally lost by Azarenka, the crowd news grew. It might be because rumors are growing that this will be Clijsters final Australian Open or it could be that Azarenka complained about the crowd talking during points, but whatever the reason, the crowd leaned in favor of Clijsters.
At 0-2, 30-40 against Azarenka, the 22-year-old Belarusian placed her racket on top of her head and exhaled. Her frustration was starting to become visible. Clijsters took that game to give herself a 3-0 cushion in the second set. Then she had two service breaks.
And then the Belgian had a 5-0 lead. The commentators said it looked as if Azarenka had retired from attempting a comeback. She would just give the second set away.
She was able to hold onto her serve to push the match to 5-1, but it was too late. Clijsters had already settled into her rhythm. She finished off the set in the next game in four straight points to take the second set, 6-1. It took 31 minutes.
The first women's semifinal of the 2012 Australian Open started off fairly tame, with both Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka holding serve for the first two games. Clijster's injured ankle looked no worse for wear from the get-go as she moved around freely, staying along the baseline.
Azarenka drew first blood in the third game, breaking Clijster's serve to take the early advantage in the match. It took Azarenka two chances to earn the break point, but she was able to convert while earning the upper-hand in the first set.
In the fourth game, Clijsters took a quick 40-15 advantage, threatening to break Azarenka's serve. But her two break point chances were fruitless as Azarenka recovered to push the game to deuce. A stalemate ensued, with Clijsters earning the advantage multiple times, only to be thwarted each time. After laying down a superb drop shot to earn deuce again, Azarenka ripped a backhand down the line, then capitalized with the advantage, fighting off four break points to take the game and a 3-1 advantage in the set.
Break points continued to be hard to come by as Azarenka and Clijsters held serve, with the former looking more dominant, through the eight game. Azarenka held a 5-3 lead, thanks to her early break, and Clijsters seemed to be battling to stay alive in the set.
In the middle of the ninth game of the match, a bird feather came floating down onto the court in the midst of a rally. We point this out only because it was fitting: Azarenka's grunts were beginning to resemble the sounds a bird may make during an ancient mating ritual. Clijsters took the game despite giving up a 40-0 lead and nearly being broken while the game flopped from deuce to advantage and back again multiple times.
Needing a break to prolong the set, though, Clijsters was unable to mount a serious charge in the 10th game. The fourth game was as close as she would get to a break -- a chance lost -- as Azarenka easily handled the 10th, taking the first set, 6-4.
Follow along with the semifinal matchups of the 2012 Australian Open in this StoryStream. For more on the tournament, visit our tennis hub.
Rafael Nadal Vs. Roger Federer Replay To Be Shown On ESPN2 At Noon Thursday
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal met for the 27th time on Thursday. After falling behind early, Nadal came back to win in four sets, in a game that many are already calling yet another classic match between the two. The semifinal match was not nearly as simple for Nadal as the box score of 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4 would suggest. The two played at their best, although Nadal continues to be Federer's own personal kryptonite.
SI.com provided a game-by-game analysis of each set, but if you happened to miss the match, which aired very early in the morning in America, you will have another chance to watch the instant classic in its entirety later on Thursday.
ESPN2 will replay the full match at 12:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, January 26. If you're not working in an office that's conducive to viewing, plan on taking a long lunch break.
For more on the tournament, visit our tennis hub.
Jan 26 9:23a by Bill Hanstock - 0 comments