Return Winners: The 2009 Australian Open final

Rafael Nadal made his first appearance in a hard-court Grand Slam final, while Roger Federer had yet to lose one.

Something had to give.

The Setting

In 2008, Nadal had accomplished what was beginning to seem unthinkable: He finally knocked Federer from atop the ATP World Tour rankings. Nadal won the French Open that year, as well as his first Wimbledon title in a five-set classic over Federer, the five-time defending champ. Federer still ended the year with a Slam, winning the US Open. G

oing into the 2009 Australian Open, however, the “Big 4” had become official as Novak Djokovic was the defending champion and Andy Murray had just reached his first Slam final the year before. Federer and Nadal made it to the final as the top two seeds, but not without some difficulties. In the fourth round, Federer rallied from two-sets-to-love down against Tomas Berdych, while in the semifinals, Nadal prevailed in a five-set thriller against his countryman, Fernando Verdasco.

The Final

The first set started off quite inauspiciously for Federer as he was broken right off the bat. The Swiss got back on serve, and actually went up a break at 4-2, but was unable to hold it. Nadal ended up taking the first set 7-5.

Despite his serve dropping a level, Federer would go on to capture the second set, 6-3. The pivotal third set ended up going to Nadal in a tiebreaker, and he took a two-sets-to-one lead. Federer, looking at the prospects of losing yet another Slam final to his biggest rival, put in a repeat performance of the second set and won the fourth, 6-3.

In the fifth set, Federer quickly fell into a 3-1 hole, then Nadal held to make it 4-1. The next two games went on serve, with Nadal holding a 5-2 lead. Federer had to serve to stay in it, but after fighting off two match points, he was broken for the match and Nadal won his first Australian Open.

Post-match, Federer showed just how difficult this loss was to bear, breaking down during his speech.

Notable Numbers

10

Over the course of his last two matches at the tournament, Nadal spent nearly 10 hours on court (the total was 9 hours, 37 minutes).

5

This was Nadal’s fifth win in seven Grand Slam finals against Federer.

1

This match marked the first time Federer had ever lost a Grand Slam final on a hard court.