This weekend saw Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams lifting their respective trophies at the Australian Open. While Serena breezed through her final, winning 6-0 6-3 against Dinara Safina to take the women’s title, Nadal had to battle through a 7-5 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-2 epic match against Federer to clinch victory.
His win saw the 22-year-old Spaniard become the first man to win Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces since Andre Agassi.
Nadal came through an epic five set battle to beat Federer
“It is very special for me. It’s a dream win, one Grand Slam on a hard court,” said Nadal.
“I’ve worked very hard all my life to improve my tennis outside of clay. I’m very happy, very happy to win the title.”
The left-hander, also clinched another title – that of the first man since Goran Ivanesevic at Wimbledon in 2001, to claim a Grand Slam victory with five-set wins in both the semis and the final. He is also the first Spaniard to take the Australian Open title.
Nadal had entered the final with a hamstring niggle and admitted that he had a couple of scary moments while on court.
“In the third set it started to pull. There was no cramping but it was scary.” said Nadal.
Ever the gracious victor, Nadal said of his opponent, “it was a tough moment for Rog today. I know how tough it must be there for him.
“But he’s a great champion. He’s the best and he’s for sure a very important person for our sport.”
Serena Williams’ victory saw her claim a 10th Grand Slam title, in a disappointingly one-sided final.
Serena Williams breezed to victory in two sets
Williams raced through the first set in just 22 minutes, and while Safina improved in the second set, the usually feisty Russian hit five double faults and 21 unforced errors in just 15 games.
Williams’ win sees her reclaim the number one spot in the world rankings, supplanting Jelena Jankovic.
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