Rafa Nadal wins Australian Open, Federer devastated
source: http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/01/sports/open.4-420713.php
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- chicaalmodovar
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Spaniard Rafael Nadal, 22, has won his first Australian Open Championship and his sixth Grand Slam title, leaving a devastated Roger Federer, 27, in tears for not being able to obtain a 14th victory, which would have allowed him to match Peter Sampras's 14th victory record.
"'God it's killing me,' he said, eventually backing away from the microphone.
But this historic rivalry, one of the best in any sport, is also a friendly rivalry, despite all the power and spin these two well-mannered young men employ against each other when they are on opposite sides of a net. So it was no surprise that Nadal, the first Spanish player to win the Australian championships, was soon putting his left arm around Federer, putting his head against his and helping him pull himself back together just long enough to finish the speech.
'I don't want to have the last word; this guy deserves it,' Federer said. 'So Rafa, congratulations. You played incredible. You deserve it man.'
It is difficult to argue with that last sentence. To even reach the final, the top-seeded Nadal had to win the longest match in Australian Open history in the semifinals: a five-set, five-hour-and-14-minute classic against his compatriot Fernando Verdasco. He then had one day less than the second-seeded Federer to prepare for the 19th installment of their rivalry: undergoing intense physical therapy in an attempt to recover the freshness of mind and body required to repulse a man on a mission."
"'God it's killing me,' he said, eventually backing away from the microphone.
But this historic rivalry, one of the best in any sport, is also a friendly rivalry, despite all the power and spin these two well-mannered young men employ against each other when they are on opposite sides of a net. So it was no surprise that Nadal, the first Spanish player to win the Australian championships, was soon putting his left arm around Federer, putting his head against his and helping him pull himself back together just long enough to finish the speech.
'I don't want to have the last word; this guy deserves it,' Federer said. 'So Rafa, congratulations. You played incredible. You deserve it man.'
It is difficult to argue with that last sentence. To even reach the final, the top-seeded Nadal had to win the longest match in Australian Open history in the semifinals: a five-set, five-hour-and-14-minute classic against his compatriot Fernando Verdasco. He then had one day less than the second-seeded Federer to prepare for the 19th installment of their rivalry: undergoing intense physical therapy in an attempt to recover the freshness of mind and body required to repulse a man on a mission."
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