Australian Open 2014: Rafael Nadal crushes Roger Federer's hopes, races into the finals

Rafael Nadal celebrates his victory over Roger Federer in the Australian Open semifinal

The rivalry that has been so talked about this past decade saw another episode draw to a familiar conclusion. Rafael Nadal played another characteristically blistering match to crush Roger Federer 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 23 minutes inside a packed Rod Laver Arena.

With the legends of tennis in attendance, any hopes of a great match were quickly dashed as Nadal brutalised the Federer backhand to quickly gain control of the match and reach his third final at the Australian Open.

On Sunday, Nadal will take on another Swiss, Stanislas Wawrinka, who will be playing his first ever Grand Slam final. The Spaniard though will be playing his 19th final and looking for his 14th Major title to try, in the process emulatinh the number accomplished by Pete Sampras, who was court side to witness the demolition of 17-time Grand Slam champion Federer in the 33rd contest between the two players. This was the first time that Sampras had watched the two men in live action, as Nadal took his tally to 23 wins over Federer.

The first set gave away no hint of what was to come as both players got off to a steady start. Federer faced some trouble in his service games, but he was also the one who enjoyed the first big chance. At 0-30 on the Nadal serve in the tenth game, Federer had an easy forehand to earn a set point, but he spurned the opportunity with a loose shot.

The set drifted into a breaker and Federer was the first to slip, literally. He lost his footing ever so slightly as he ventured to the net for a volley and ended up dumping it into the net to surrender a 3-1 lead to the Spaniard. Not one to lose the scent of an opportunity, Nadal took the next two points to gain a 5-1 lead as they switched ends.

Federer won the next three points to raise the intensity of the air inside the majestic centre court at Melbourne Park, but Nadal produced a wide angled serve to gain two set points. He just needed one, as Federer misfired his next shot too long to surrender the set and the initiative to Nadal.

Federer was getting passed at the net by Nadal almost at will. The Spaniard used the stroke to good effect again to force break points in the fourth game of the second set. But Federer’s forehand came to his rescue as he won three straight points, the last on a challenge, to remain in touch with his domineering opponent.

The Swiss played an elegant backhand volley to begin game six, but a sensational wristy flick from Nadal caught him unawares at the net and suddenly he was down two break points. Federer saved the seventh break point of the match, but could not prevent Nadal from taking the eighth when he stood witness to a scorching crosscourt winner off a short ball. The Spaniard then consolidated quickly to take a commanding 5-2 lead in the second set.

Nearly two hours into the match, Nadal was in a spot of bother at 0-30 in the ninth game. But the World No. 1 drew Federer into attritional rallies, testing his backhand repeatedly. That was enough to unsettle Federer, who found the net twice in a row to surrender the second set to Nadal, 3-6.

With his back to the wall already, Federer courted deeper trouble when he fell to 15-40 in the third game with utterly lacklustre tennis. He compounded his misery when he dumped a backhand volley into the net to gift the break to his murderous opponent. Soon though, the first opportunities of the match stared at Federer.

Nadal struck a couple of forehands wide to offer a couple of break points to the Swiss, the first of the night for Federer. He could not capitalise the first, when he sailed a forehand long, but Nadal obliged with a similar forehand error to hand the break back to Federer.

Just when you thought Federer might work his way back into the contest, he flailed a forehand long to offer two more opportunities for Nadal to break serve for the third time. Federer though called on his big serve to reel away four straight points to hold serve. The crowd was pining for a match and they egged on Federer with the loudest cheers.

Incidentally, Federer had more winners than Nadal, 34 to 28. But the Swiss was a victim of his own making too, as he served out a liberal dose of unforced errors – 50 to just 25 from his opponent. Also, unlike in the earlier rounds, Federer’s approach game did not work as effectively as it did against other opponents.

The Swiss player, now under the tutelage of the last great exponent of the volley – Stefan Edberg – managed to win just 55% of the points at the net, losing 19 of his 42 forays to the net. In contrast, Nadal was constantly putting Federer under pressure from the back of the court and testing the vulnerable backhand. Nadal enjoyed as many as 14 break points compared to just two that he offered his opponent.

Nadal will walk out the heavy favourite on Sunday to emulate Sampras, but he has already sailed past the great American on the count of number of finals reached. Nadal has joined Ivan Lendl at 19 finals and is only surpassed by Federer who has 24 Grand Slam finals on his illustrious card.