Irrepressible Nadal turns on the power, now he seeks the glory as grand slam No.11 beckons

Friday 27 January 2012

Roger Federer left Melbourne yesterday a beaten man but with a parting gift for those who dare to write him off again.

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Heraldscotland staff

"Don't feel too sorry for me", he said. "I hadn't lost in five months. The important thing is the reaction from now. Where do I go from here?"

The Swiss meant it literally, not metaphorically, but, after yet another defeat in a grand slam event by Rafael Nadal – it is now eight in 10 meetings at the big four events – Federer will have to regroup for the months and three grand slams to come.

Last night's semi-final meeting between the two was their 27th in all but, as in 17 of the previous 26, it was the Spaniard, brutally strong, enormously resilient and, in the end, irrepressible who emerged a 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 winner.When Nadal takes on the winner of today's second semi-final between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, he will be appearing in his fourth straight grand slam final and his seventh in the past eight.It is an extraordinary record but one that has been overlooked in the light of what Djokovic achieved in 2011, winning three grand slam titles, as Nadal had done the previous year.This time, it is all the more remarkable because on the eve of the tournament, a freak incident with his right knee left him unsure whether he would even be able to play his first-round match.Now he is on the verge of an 11th grand slam title and, if he plays as well as he did against Federer, then he has to have a good chance of winning. "On the Sunday afternoon, 24 hours before my first match, I was in my room crying because I believe I didn't have the chance to play Melbourne," he said. "Two weeks later I am here in the final so it is a dream for me."His knee remains strapped for precaution but the way he moved against Federer yesterday there can be no doubt that he is playing with 100% fitness.Time and again, Federer came forward thinking he had the point won only for Nadal to rip a passing shot from a ridiculous position on the court, one in particular in the sixth game of the second set leaving Federer flat-footed at the net and taking the breath away.It was Federer, though, who began the better, breaking immediately on his way to a 4-1 lead, coming forward at every opportunity and playing the kind of tennis that helped him hammer Nadal in the World Tour Finals in London in November. Though Nadal got the break back, Federer took the resultant tiebreak 7-5 only for the Spaniard to surge to a 5-2 lead in the second set with some stunning passing shots and incredible retrieving.At that stage, the players had to wait almost 10 minutes as the Australia Day fireworks roared overhead but when they resumed, it was Federer who appeared spooked as Nadal took the next 11 points to level the match and move ahead in the third set.By now, Nadal was clearly in the ascendancy but Federer broke for 4-3, only for Nadal to get the break back immediately. Again the two went to a tiebreak and after letting slip a 6-1 lead to 6-5, Nadal clinched the set when Federer netted a forehand.The forehand, once the most destructive shot in tennis, let Federer down on a number of occasions in the fourth set, finally when the Swiss sent a backhand wide. That left Nadal serving for the match but Federer forced a break back point only for Nadal to scramble a lob on to the baseline and force the error. Federer forced another but Nadal closed the door and then wrapped up victory when another forehand went astray.Nadal celebrated almost as if he had won the trophy but though he knows he has one more huge battle ahead, he admitted he was ecstatic with how he is playing. "When I am able to play inside, to play aggressive, I think the things are working fantastic," he said. "I don't know if it's going to be enough against Novak or against Andy. But I'm very happy about my tournament. I'm going to try my best to try to play a fantastic final and hopefully I will have my chances."

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Irrepressible Nadal turns on the power, now he seeks the glory as grand slam No.11 beckons

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