Last year the two most exciting sporting events I watched on television was golf’s Ryder Cup and the Wimbledon Men’s Tennis final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
On Sunday Nadal & Federer met for the first time since that amazing five set thriller which Nadal won three sets to two, at the final of The Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne.
Roger Federer was attempting to equal Pete Sampras’s record breaking 14 Grand Slam victories and Rafael Nadal was looking for his first hard court Grand Slam victory to add to his grass court Wimbledon and four clay court victories at the French Open.
The Australian Open was the first Grand Slam of the 2009 tennis season and for four sets it was another breathtaking game of tennis from two of the best tennis players I have ever seen.
Rafael Nadal, the 22-year-old Spanish world number one beat Roger Federer 7-5 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-2 in four hours and 23 minutes.
Unfortunately, unlike the classic Wimbledon final, this match peaked after four sets. At two sets each it was Federer that looked shot. As the BBC commentator said, he looked like a punch-drunk boxer that had taken one punch too many.
Nadal received treatment for tight quadriceps and hamstrings during the match, the result of a testing five match semi-final less than 48 hours previously. But it was Nadal that was able to keep going and win the fifth set.
Since arriving on the world stage Rafael Nadal has trained hard to improve his tennis on surfaces other than clay.
With Grand Slam wins on grass at Wimbledon and now hard court at The Australian Open, Rafael Nadal is a complete all-round tennis champion and deserves to be the tennis world number one.
Furthermore, at 22 years-old I believe Nadal will beat Pete Sampras’s record of 14 Grand Slam victories. It will just take him longer than Roger Federer.
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