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TENNIS
Wimbledon Championships

Rafael Nadal defeats Roger Federer in Australian Open

Douglas Robson
USA TODAY Sports
  • Nadal runs his record against Federer to 23-10
  • The top seed missed the Australian Open last year because of injury
  • He will face Stanislas Wawrinka in the final on Sunday
Rafael Nadal celebrates after his straight-sets victory Friday against Roger Federer in the Australian Open semifinals.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal continued his domination of Roger Federer, creating more distance in their long rivalry with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-3 win in the Australian Open semifinals Friday at Rod Laver Arena.

No. 1 Nadal, seeking his second Grand Slam title in Melbourne and his 14th overall, leads the head-to-head with Federer 23-10, including 9-2 at majors.

Spain's Nadal will face another Swiss, surprise finalist and No. 8 seed Stanislas Wawrinka, in Sunday's final.

After his worst season in a decade, 32-year-old Federer, seeded sixth, arrived in Melbourne with a new, larger racket and new voice in his ear, adviser Stefan Edberg.

Nadal, who beat Federer here in 2009 for his only Australian Open title and missed last year's tournament to rest his troubled knees, tortured the Swiss with his high-bouncing lefty forehands, his deadly passing shots and refusal to let his level drop.

"It's kind of like hit the rewind button and watch it again," said Jim Courier, the U.S. Davis Cup captain and a two-time Australian Open champ, who is calling matches for Australia's Channel 7. "It's the same thing — classic bad matchup for Roger."

Federer tried a variety of aggressive tactics — serving and volleying, charging the net, flattening out his backhand, even complaining to the umpire about the Spaniard's grunting — but Nadal had an answer for everything.

The Mallorca native hit half as many unforced errors — 25 to 50 — and won 73% of both his first and second-serve points.

"I think I played probably my best match of the tournament," Nadal said.

Later, Edberg said if Federer had converted one of his three break chances in the tight first set it might have changed the complexion of the match, but Nadal was simply too good.

Federer notched wins against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, and his back no longer seems to be impeding his movement. Edberg sees progress.

"It's looking good for the rest of the year," said Edberg, adding that despite his age Federer could improve.

Rafael Nadal is congratulated by Roger Federer.

"You can't make radical changes," the six-time major winner said. "That's impossible. Nobody can. There's certain things that he can improve, and if he does I still believe when he plays his best he can still win another Slam."

Under the tutelage of Swedish coach Magnus Norman, Wawrinka, 28, is playing the best tennis of his life. On Monday he'll overtake Federer as the top-ranked player from Switzerland. But the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against him.

He is playing in his first Grand Slam final, and he has yet to win a match — much less a set — against Nadal in 12 meetings (26 sets and counting).

But Wawrinka already put to bed a longer losing streak when he beat three-time defending Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals to end a streak of 14 consecutive losses.

And unlike Federer, Wawrinka — like Nadal undefeated in 2014 — can rip his one-handed backhand with more velocity. Most of all, he has nothing to lose.

"He has a puncher's chance," Courier said.

Wawrinka will also have to serve big and squeeze the baseline, according to Swiss Davis Cup captain Severin Luthi.

"It's tough to beat Rafa when you're too far back," he said, noting that Wawrinka also has an extra day of rest following his defeat of Tomas Berdych on Thursday.

Nadal? He's chasing history — relentlessly.

A victory Sunday would make him just the third man after Rod Laver and Roy Emerson to win all four majors at least twice.

A second Australian Open title would also close the gap with men's leader Federer to three, but more significantly keep him ahead in the race against time.

At 27 years and 237 days, Nadal would be the youngest man to win 14 majors, passing Federer, who reached his 14th major at the 2009 French Open when he was 27 years, 303 days.

Nadal's camp won't underestimate any opponent, no matter the paper odds.

"It's not the same Wawrinka today than one year ago," said Nadal's uncle and coach, Toni Nadal, citing his improved forehand and overall consistency.

Nadal has a way of figuring out how to make any matchup miserable, which is why he has a winning record against every player in the top 30, perhaps an unprecedented achievement in the annals of the men's game.

"His record is just mind-boggling from that head-to-head standpoint," Courier said. "He solves problems if there are any."

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