Rafael
Nadal has
booked his spot in the 2017 Australian
Open final
after recording a 6-3 7-5 7-6 6-7 6-4 victory over Grigor
Dimitrov in
an epic second semi-final in Melbourne.
Nadal
will now take on old enemy Roger
Federer in
Sunday's final, with the pair due to meet in the conclusion of a
Grand Slam for the ninth time.
Dimitrov
issued a warning to Nadal when he created two break points on the
Spaniard's opening serve, but he failed to covert them and was made
to pay for it later on.
Nadal
eventually went a break up himself and pushed on to take the set in
36 minutes, but he was made to work in the second as Dimitrov tried
to level terms.
The
Bulgarian nabbed an early break point and despite dropping serve
twice, he was able to see out the set with a crucial break point.Nadal
seemed to have swung the set in his favour when he saved four break
points in a mammoth game, but Dimitrov had the edge to draw 1-1 after
one hour and four minutes.
Both
players lost serve once in the third set, and the resulting tie-break
went Nadal's way 7-5, but it was a tense fourth set for the pair.
Another
tie-break was required after neither player could create a single
break point in normal play, and this time it was Dimitrov who
prospered as he snatched it 7-4.
Both
players held their opening four service games in the fifth and final
set, but a break for Nadal at 4-4 allowed the Spaniard to take
control and he served it out 6-4 to book his spot in a first major
final since 2014.
Nadal
and Federer have not met in the final of a Grand Slam since the 2011
French Open final, which Nadal won. Overall, the Spaniard leads the
Swiss 23-11 in their all-time head-to-head record.
0 comments:
Post a Comment