31st of January

After 5 hours, 14 minutes of unbelievable tennis, Rafa Nadal made history in the Australian Open…..Verdasco was on his knees in disappointment, and Rafa was flat on his back with delight.

Only the fans were on their feet, cheering with appreciation for the longest recorded match in an Australian Open, and also one of the best, an epic 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (1-7), 6-4 semifinal victory for our champion and world number 1 tennis player in the world.

SO, WHAT DID THE REST OF THE WORLD THINK OF THIS EPIC SEMIFINAL?

(CLICK ON TITLE OF ARTICLE TO READ THE FULL REPORT)

“Rafael couldn't hold back the tears when he pulled within a point of making the Australian Open final” said the Associated Press about the amazing match.

Nadal serves up marathon floor show ,was the title for the independent website in the UK, “An extraordinary display of stroke-making and athleticism provided wonderful entertainment for the crowd, but the happiest spectator must have been Roger Federer, who had won his semi-final in straight sets 24 hours earlier. Nadal is the strong man of tennis, but can he recover in time to beat the game's greatest fast-court player, who will be aiming to equal Pete Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slam titles?”…

Match looms as final for the ages 

“Five hours, fourteen minutes: that's the biblical epic of a tennis match just played by Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco in the Australian Open. Nadal won the longest match in the history of the event 6-7 6-4 7-6 6-7 6-4, collapsing to his back in relief when Verdasco double-faulted to end a match that was half-tennis, half-Russian novel” were the words used by sportingnews.com.

Nadal wins epic to reach Australian Open final

“Nadal's superior fitness, both mental and physical, was finally demonstrated in the 10th game of the fifth set as he earned three match points after a clearly tired Verdasco made some mistakes.

An exhausted Verdasco fired another double faults on the third match point to give the epic victory to Nadal, who said at the courtside after the match that Verdasco also deserved the win.”

WHAT ABOUT TOMORROW’S FINAL?

“With a few obvious exceptions, Federer and Nadal almost seem to have made an unspoken gentleman's agreement: Nadal wins on clay and Federer wins on faster surfaces. Yet, for the first time in a Grand Slam, they'll be meeting halfway and playing on a court made of rubber but playing fairly slowly -- a "democratic surface" if you will. This could be a true test of supremacy” Sports Illustrated said about tomorrow’s final.

RAFA’S WORDS

"I feel very happy more than tired," Nadal said. "For sure, it's going to be a tough final in one day and a half, because my opponent will be very difficult. But it was amazing for me to play here in this match. It was one of the best matches in my career." Said Rafa about tomorrow’s final.

What a match!