Australian Open 2014: A recap of Rafael Nadal's progress through the tournament

Semifinal: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3

It was the match everyone wanted to see, but sadly, it didn’t live up to the hype. Coming into this tournament, there were doubts in the Nadal camp, due to his lacklusture performance in his last two matches and a blister the size of a crater on his palm. Federer, on the other hand, appeared confident and had excellent outings against Tsonga and Murray, and he said he felt he was “back” and had a gameplan against Nadal, as suggested by Edberg.

However, the match unfolded in stark contrast to that, with Nadal never really in danger of losing the match at any point, except for the first set. Such was his dominance in rallies and passing winners, that Federer could do little but watch. As the match progressed, the writing was on the wall for Federer, and Nadal accomplished the task in straight sets to go into his 19th Major final.

The match began with a quick start from both players. Federer seemed sharp and so did Nadal, and they held their opening games comfortably. Nadal hit a passing shot early on which Federer was barely able to touch, giving a hint of things to come.

In the third game, Federer started doing what was expected of him – coming into the net on every point of Nadal’s serve. Nadal was down 0-30, but did well enough to pass him and hit a forehand down-the-line winner to hold serve.

Nadal gave Federer a real scare at 3-3. He passed Federer yet again and had two break points, but some good serving and errors from Nadal helped Federer to win the game. But the message was clear – if you come to the net, I will pass you, time and again.

Nadal held serve and again put the pressure on Federer. The tried and tested strategy of attacking Federer’s backhand was in full flow, and Federer was having discomfort with it as usual. Still, he managed to come out of it and lead 5-4.

As both players overcame minor setbacks to hold their service games, the set heat headed into a tie-break.

In the breaker Federer broke down, while Nadal grew even more solid. At one point he led 5-2. Federer did manage to close the gap to 5-4, but you could see that Federer was shaky and Nadal was relentless, winning all the long rallies. He closed the set when Federer hit a forehand long. First set Nadal.

Nadal started serving in the second set and after holding with some impressive rallies took an injury timeout. We almost forgot he was playing with this huge blister on his hand. Nadal was getting dangerously close to a time violation, but he was not deterred by that. He held serve comfortably and started pushing Federer around, trying to break him. At 2-1, Federer had to face multiple break points, but he successfully thwarted Nadal’s attack every time. A challenge on an out call gave him the game.

In contrast, Nadal easily held his serve. Federer made some poor errors with his forehand and never really seemed like threatening Nadal on serve.

Something had to give. Nadal held two break points yet again. Federer saved one. But on the second one, Nadal constructed the point incredibly well, and moved Federer around exactly where he wanted to, finishing with a crosscourt forehand to finally break Federer. He held serve commandingly and kept Federer out of it. Federer had a small chance for a break at 5-3, but Nadal was just relentless with his attack to Federer’s backhand and as expected, took the second set 6-3.

Nadal started the third set in style, taking the opening game and then breaking Federer to take a 3-1 lead. Just when it seemed like it was a question of when, however, Federer reminded us why he’s a 17 time Slam champion. Taking advantage of a couple of errors from Nadal, he dug deep and broke Nadal to get back on serve.

Both men held serve, until Nadal put the gas on the throttle again. He was also helped by the net cord a couple of times – first on a passing shot, and next when Federer’s forehand went long after hitting the tape. In no time, Nadal had the break and was two games away from victory.

He served to put Federer under pressure to stay in the match at 5-3. At this stage Nadal was passing Federer at will. Federer saved one match point, but he couldn’t save the second. With yet another forehand error, Nadal sealed victory in a convincing fashion.

Ever the graceful champion he is, Nadal acknowledged how important Federer and his rivalry with him was in defining both their careers.

This victory put Nadal one step away from a tantalizing piece of history. The only man in the Open era to complete a double career Grand Slam. In his way stood another Swiss, another player with a one handed backhand. Stanislas Wawrinka had had a good tournament, but the fact remained, that in his previous 12 encounters with Nadal, he hadn’t taken a set off him. Into the finals, VAMOS!

Final: Stanislas Wawrinka def. Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

It was a stunning start from the Swiss. After an initial hold from both players, Wawrinka easily retrieved two grossly mistimed drop shots from Nadal and took the break to lead 3-1. He came out firing in his next service game with a blistering forehand down the line winner, and a backhand winner. Nadal seemed out of sorts, and saved a break point to hold serve. Both men continued to hold serve, until it was the moment of truth for Wawrinka, to serve out the set at 5-3. It was here that he displayed nerves of steel. Down 3 break points, he fought back from all three of them, aided by Nadal missing forehands on all three of his second serves. He finished the set with an ace.

The second set brought even more complications for Nadal as he got broken in the opening game with some brilliant shot making from Stan. Nadal bent over his waist after the third game, and we could see that he was struggling with something. Soon he went for a medical timeout, and when he was back, the crowd was shocked to see that he was in tears.

Wawrinka wasn’t distracted though. He raced away against a struggling Nadal, who could hardly move to return Wawrinka’s rocket returns. Very soon, Nadal was down 2 sets to love.

You could sense the anticipation among the crowd – was Nadal going to retire? Was this going to be the end of an incredible campaign? But no; in spite of his tears and obvious back ailment, Nadal, being the sportsman that he is, refused to bow down.

And out of the blue, Wawrinka totally lost the rhythm which he had maintained so well in the first two sets. The errors flew from both sides, and even though Nadal struggled, he still managed to get a break of serve. There was no ‘grunt’, no power in his serves, but after being down break points, 15-40 in one and 30-40 in the other, he still managed to hold on. What was expected to be a formality straight sets victory for Wawrinka, was miraculously turned into a contest by Nadal.

But the fairytale ended there, for Nadal and his fans. Still struggling, Nadal put up a brave fight, but this time, Wawrinka didn’t let the nerves get the better of him. He started the set aggressively, but Nadal fought back, and the two exchanged breaks of serve. Wawrinka broke him again, and this time, he served for the championship. A helpless Nadal watched as Wawrinka sealed the victory with a simple forehand down the line.

This was Wawrinka’s day, as Nadal mentioned later. But to the Spaniard’s fans, and millions of sport lovers around the world, it will also be remembered for the sportsmanship Nadal showed on and off the court.

Pros -

The ability to extricate himself out of tight situations. Nadal didn’t play his best at times during the tournament, but nevertheless was able to fight and get out of trouble in those times. Though Nadal has always been good at that, this tournament was particularly impressive in that regard.

Cons -

Lack of good serves, but that was in part due to the blister on his hand. Nadal also missed some routine forehands during the tournament.

Up next -

Nadal will most probably play in Argentina, at Copa Claro, and follow it with the Rio Open. With his back injury said to be getting better, we can expect the World No. 1 to fire on all cylinders once again. Vamos!