That’s it! Roger Federer beats Rafael Nadal in 5th set to win his 18th Grand Slam Title. 

It was indeed the ‘dream final’, the match we all wanted to watch. Both the players gave their best but Roger Federer emerged as the winner after 5 sets winning the match, 6 – 4, 3 – 6, 6 – 1, 3- 6, 6 – 3.

 

The old man has done it one more time. Emotional moment for him. He is in tears, incredible scenes at Melbourne.

ACE! Federer makes it 40-40!

5:38 PM: Its going till the very end, Rafa is not giving up easily, makes it 40-15.

Federer wins the game, makes it 5-3, he is moments away from the glory.

 

Bullet service by Nadal, it’s DEUCE again!

5:33 PM: Unbelievable! Breathtaking stuff from both the players. Federer takes advantage after a rally of 26 shots, longest of the match!

 

Nadal must be under immense pressure now. He holds the serve.

5:25 PM: Federer takes two points to make it 40-0 in the 7th game and the atmosphere in the stands is electrifying. He leads it 4-3 now.

Federer does it, makes it 3-3. 

Another superb effort from Federer, takes the advantage! Crowd is up on its feet.

5:22 PM: Nadal does it again. It’s DEUCE! This game is a real treat.

This is an important game. If Nadal wins here, he’ll make it 4-2 and then would be in a very strong position. RF can’t play the catch up game for too long.

5:16 PM: Federer makes it 2-3.

5:14 PM: Nadal has the upper hand now. This may trigger the panic button for any other player but the man in focus is ‘Roger Federer’.

5:11 PM: And, still trying to win the title:

 

The crowd is getting involved now. You can hear a roar for every point. 

5:08 PM: Federer has made a good comeback here. He has equalled the 3rd game 30-30.

 

5:05 PM: 

 

 

5:02 PM: Good comeback by Nadal, makes it 2-0.

5:00 PM: Off the net, unlucky for Nadal. But, he pulls it back to Deuce it again.

Roger Federer is keeping his composure but Nadal is answering back with his aggression.

Here is the five set record for both the players, Rafa Nadal 19-8, Federer 26-20.

4:54 PM: Rafael Nadal breaks the serve in the first game itself, leads the final set 1-0.

4:51 PM: Here we go, Rafa draws first blood in the final set, leads 15-0.

 

4:46 PM: This will be a real test of stamina, composure and skill for both the players.

 

Game on! Rafa takes it into the 5th set, wins the fourth set 6-3.

4:41 PM: Federer wins the game to make it 5-3, this could be the game for Nadal to wrap it up.

4:37 PM: Easy for Rafa wins the game- love, makes it 5-2.

Federer applauds Nadal for the ‘hot shot’. Immense respect for both these players:

 

4:35 PM: Nadal had a good chance to break the serve in this game but allowed it to slip away. Games goes to Federer, it’s 4-2.

Rafael Nadal is all pumped up now. Federer on the other hand, is calm as always, he knows that he is leading the match.

4:28 PM: Too many mistakes from RF, Nadal wins the game, makes it 4-1.

Even the fans don’t know who to support:

 

It’s hard to believe that Roger Federer is 35-years-old. His movement on the court is still excellent.

4:23 PM: This man’s dictionary doesn’t have the word ‘pressure’:

 

4:20 PM: Good game for Nadal. He breaks the serve and leads 3-1.

4:17 PM: Strong game from Rafa, some really good serves. He leads the fourth set 2-1. 

4:13 PM: Roger Federer makes good comeback. Clever as a fox, calm as a cucumber. Makes it 1-1. 

4:10 PM: Rafa has started the 4th set well by winning the first game. He has set the tone for an engaging set.

4:08 PM: Here is the summary from the 3rd set:

 

4:05 PM: Pressure is on Nadal now, he needs to take into the 5th set and, we all know what happens when Rafa takes it into the 5th!

SET POINT! He does it this time, wins the set 6-1.

Advantage Nadal, he is competing as if the set is 5-5. Great spirit from the Spaniard.

Once again it’s Deuce! RF will have wait more before winning the set. However, he is very close.

3:58 PM: Great shot:

 

3:56 PM: The maestro is turning the tables here. Federer leads 5-1.

3:55 PM: Indian wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel is enjoying the match:

 

3:52 PM: Outrageous from Roger Federer. He won that game in just 1 minute, 26 seconds. The game is changing with the blink of an eye. Set 4-1, Federer.  

3:49 PM: What a game! Amazing, from both the players. Superb comeback by Nadal, wins the game and makes it 3-1.

This is simply majestic to watch these two guys fighting hard for every single point despite winning everything in their career. That spark is still there.

3:42 PM: No one beat RF’s accuracy for sure:

 

3:40 PM: Another superb game for Federer. He leads 3-0.

3:38 PM: That’s the feeling:

 

3:35 PM: Federer breaks the serves, makes it 2-0. 

It has been a tense start to the third set. The first game went on for 10 minutes, Federer is looking better in this set. His precision is admirable.

Great scenes at the Rod Laver Arena.

 

3:33 PM: One champion hails others:

 

3:31 PM: Good start to the third set, engaging game. Nadal gave a tough fight despite Federer’s strong serves. The Swiss almost paid price for his mistakes but kept his composure to make it 1-0. 

3:27 PM: This isn’t getting over anytime soon. Nadal’s semi-final clash lasted for 4 hours 56 minutes.

 

3:23 PM: Rafael Nadal makes a comeback in the second set, wins it 6-3

Rafael Nadal is applying himself really well on the court. He is sticking to the basics and making Federer commit mistakes. Outstanding, work by the Spaniard.

3:20 PM: This time Federer keeps his serve making it 5-3. But, he isn’t looking too happy. He knows that game is almost gone.

He didn’t look happy losing 2 back to back games:

 

3:16 PM: Momentum is still in Nadal’s favour. He wins the next game by love to make it 5-2.

3:14 PM: Aggression often leads to mistakes in sports but not when you name is Roger Federer. He makes it 4-2.

 

3:12 PM: Indeed, Nadal has been a revelation in the second set.

 

Even the B-town celebs are busy watching the match:

 

3:08 PM: Another good game featuring a good rally but unfortunately for Federer he found the net once again at the end of it. However, he pulled it back to make the set 4-1.

3:04 PM: It’s drifting away from RF, another serve break from Nadal. He leads the set 4-0. Too many mistakes from Federer in this set so far, frustration is getting the better off him.

3:00 PM: Massive lead for Nadal in the second set, makes it 3-0.

Great point for Nadal, Federer was flirting with the baseline but this time, it went out.

Now we are getting far more interesting games, they are all going down till the end. It’s about composure and calmness.

2:50 PM: What a game it was, went till the very end. Nadal breaks the serve in the second game itself, hug advantage for him.  The score stands at 2-0.

We are two games into the second set and its building up nicely. Both the players are pumped up now and are building the momentum. .

2:45 PM: Here are the stats from the first set:

 

2:40 PM: Roger Federer wins the first set 6-4. It was good set and Swiss was almost flawless. Nadal may have lost the first set but he won’t give up so easily.

Beautiful! Federer has been solid so far.

2:36 PM: Vintage Nadal, hits it hard. Wins the game, 5-4. He needs to break the serve now.

2:32 PM: Federer in strong position now, 5-3 game Roger.

Even the Earth might consider not rotating today:

 


2:30 PM: Federer does it, breaks the first serve of the game, leads the first set 4-3 now.

Good point for Roger Federer, he is flirting with the baselines at the moment but that precision is admirable.

2:25 PM: Ace, one of the slowest I have ever seen. The speed was just 169 kms/h. Federer takes the game, it’s 3-3 now.

2:22 PM: Nadal gets another love hold, it’s 3-2. Spaniard is not giving anything away at the moment.

2:20 PM: It’s game Federer, 2-2.

It can’t be summed up in a better way:

 

Confident start by both the players. This is building up nicely, huge crowd has turned up for the match, a perfect Sunday afternoon for Indian tennis fans.

2:15 PM: Rafael Nadal takes the third game and takes lead 2-1.

2:13 PM: Roger Federer takes the second game, it’s 1-1.

2:07 PM: The Spaniard wins the first game easily, it’s 1-0.

Nadal has a 6-2 record against Federer in the Grand Slam finals.

First point goes to Nadal, 15-0.

2:05 PM: Here’s Roger Federer warming up before the match:

 

2:02 PM: They are in the court and hitting around. Both the players are relaxed and smiling. I’m sure the fans must be nervous. 

1:58 PM: Rafa wins the toss, opts to serve first.

1:55 PM: It has begun:

 

1:53 PM: Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are making their way out to the court, this is a special feeling to see both the legends together.

1:50 PM: And, they have massive respect for each other:

 

 

1:45 PM: Both men have fought hard to reach here

 

1:40 PM: 

 

1:35 PM: Here is the epic history between #Fedal:

 

Watch the Spaniard sweating it out ahead of the match:

 

1:30 PM: Good afternoon folks, we are less than 30 minutes away from the epic ‘dream final’ between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

It has been hard fought battles for both the veterans of contemporary Lawn Tennis. In the above tweet, we can draw conclusion how difficult the road to final was for the Swiss master!

The above video shows the Spaniard Rafael Nadal in a practice session.

11.20 AM: The match starts at  8:30 AM (GMT) i.e. 2:00 PM (IST). Live updates will follow.

The Rafa-Federer rivalry is one of the most exciting ones in the sports world just like ‘el-classico’ and ‘India-Pakistan’ and the duo has given another chapter to write late into their careers.

This will be their first final since the 2011 French Open final. While Roger Federer would be eyeing his 18th Grand Slam title, Rafa would be hoping to reduce the gap by winning his 15th title.

As far as head to head encounters are considered, the Spaniard has an edge over his Swiss counterpart. Nadal has dominated Federer in their head-to-head match-ups and has maintained a 23-11 record overall. He has also won nine of their 11 matches in Grand Slams.

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