There was no title at stake and no trophy to lift but Rafa Nadal's victory over Roger Federer in the Australian Open semifinals Thursday added another glorious chapter to the greatest rivalry in tennis. While never quite reaching the epic highs of the classic 2009 final at Melbourne Park that reduced Federer to tears, Nadal's brilliant 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 win after three hours, 42 minutes was the perfect end to Australia Day at Rod Laver Arena. Novak Djokovic, whose rise to world No. 1 has pushed Federer and Nadal closer together after years at opposite ends of the draw, faces Andy Murray in the second semifinal Friday. Meetings between the pair have normally been reserved for title matches, but neither Federer nor Nadal gave an inch in what was just their second grand slam semifinal encounter. Their 27th clash captivated fans from the first serve as Federer's flair and finesse was put to the test against the brute force of Nadal. The 25-year-old Spaniard, who has made an art form of breathing new life into points that looked dead and buried, now holds an 18-9 record against arguably the greatest player of all time. Federer took the first set in a riveting tiebreak, but the Swiss struggled to prevent uncharacteristic errors creeping in on his serve and trusty backhand. A delay as the Melbourne night sky was lit up by a dazzling display of fireworks seemed to disrupt Federer's rhythm and Nadal pounced, eating up the 30-year-old's suddenly suspect serve to get back on level terms. Nadal rode that momentum through a tight third set and captured the decisive break at 4-4 in the fourth, closing it out on the second match point when Federer blasted a forehand long. The Spaniard basked in the crowd's acclaim and sank to his knees at center court, leaning back with his arms aloft in triumph as if he had just won the title. “It didn't feel like that,” he said of his emotional celebration. “That was a very important match for me,” added Nadal, who was asked why he saved his best tennis for Federer. “It's true that I played a lot of good matches against him during my career. But I believe that he played a few fantastic matches against me too during our rivalry. “I don't play my best tennis because Roger is in front of me. I play my best tennis because I am ready to play my best tennis.” Federer had been bidding to match Roy Emerson's record of five Australian Open championships but he was not too disheartened. “It's not that bad. Don't feel too sorry for me,” he said.
