AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2012 - WOMAN FINAL

FORMER champion Maria Sharapova and Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka will fight for the Australian Open title and the number one ranking after winning nerve–wracking semi–finals.

Russia’s Sharapova gained sweet revenge for her Wimbledon final defeat to Petra Kvitova, after Azarenka survived a second–set collapse against defending champion Kim Clijsters to reach her first Major title match.

“I felt like my hand is about 200kg and my body is about 1,000kg,” Azarenka said, wiping away tears.

“Everything is shaking but that feeling when you finally win is such a relief. I can’t believe it’s over – I just want to cry.”

Both semi–finals were closely fought and impossible to predict, and each went to three tense sets with Sharapova winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 and Azarenka beating Clijsters 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

The Australian Open has heralded a shake–up in women’s tennis with Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki set to drop from world number one to four, and with Clijsters now following long–dominant Serena Williams out of the tournament.

Azarenka can now claim Belarus’ first ever Grand Slam title in tomorrow’s final, while resurgent Sharapova gets another shot at breaking a four–year Major drought since her previous Melbourne win in 2008.

Third seed Azarenka, 22, wept on court after she upset four–time Major champion Clijsters to go one step better than her previous Grand Slam best of reaching the semi-finals at last year’s Wimbledon.

She has often faltered on the big stage, most noticeably at the 2010 Australian Open when she led eventual champion Williams before imploding. But she stood firm yesterday to hold off Clijsters’ strong revival.

“Before, I think you all thought I was a mental case but I was just young and emotional,” she said. “But I’m really glad the way I fought. That’s the thing I’m most proud of, I fought for every ball.”

In the second semi-final, a rematch of last year’s Wimbledon decider, Kvitova and Sharapova threw everything at each other for almost two–and–a–quarter hours on Rod Laver Arena.

Sharapova dominated the first set and Kvitova the second, with the pair evenly matched in the third until Kvitova faltered at 4-5 to lose her serve and send Sharapova through to the final.

“I felt like in the third set she always had the advantage because I was always down on my serve,” said Sharapova, adding: “And I just thought you have got to go for it.”

Both the finalists have faced criticism over their loud on–court shrieking this week, with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announcing plans aimed at curbing the trend. – AFP

AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2012

SPAIN’S Rafael Nadal extended his mastery over Roger Federer when he came from a set down to win a gripping Australian Open semi-final.

In a rematch of the 2009 final, Federer opened like a train yesterday but he was gradually reeled in by the tenacious Nadal to suffer his fifth straight Grand Slam defeat to his great rival 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

“For me it’s a dream to be back in the final,” said a smiling Nadal.

“It’s a real honour to play against Roger, it was a fantastic match. It’s fantastic to have one player in front of you who doesn’t make mistakes, having a totally complete game.”

Nadal will now face either defending champion Novak Djokovic or fourth seed Andy Murray, who play today, as he looks for his second Australian Open crown and his 11th Grand Slam title.

The 25-year-old strengthened his spell-binding hold on the otherwise masterful Swiss, who has won only two of their 10 Grand Slam meetings, both at Wimbledon, and none since 2007.

Sheer joy: Spain’s Rafael Nadal celebrates after booking his place in the Australian Open final in Melbourne. –EPA

Three years ago, Federer wept openly when Nadal won their epic, five–set Melbourne final. And on a chilly Melbourne night there was no revenge for the 16–time slam winner, who now extends a two–year Major drought.

Federer produced flawless tennis at the start of the match but his game unravelled when put under pressure by Nadal and he finished with 63 unforced errors.

Unleashing his full arsenal, four–time Australian Open champion Federer held serve to love and broke the Spaniard at his first opportunity with a devastating crosscourt backhand with Nadal struggling to gain a foothold.

Nadal broke back but third seed Federer raised his game again after his mid–set wobble and he took the tiebreak when Nadal went long.

The players swapped service breaks at the start of the second set but the turning point came when Nadal held off a Federer break point in the fifth game and then broke the Swiss in the very next game to move ahead 4-2.

The match was suspended for 10 minutes for Australia Day fireworks with Nadal leading 5-2 and when play resumed, Federer badly lost his focus, losing 11 consecutive points on top of straight three points he lost before the break.

Nadal, 25, levelled the match at one set apiece, took the first game of set three to love and held three break points after two consecutive Federer double faults, only for the misfiring Swiss to claw himself out of the hole.

Hard work: Roger Federer of Switzerland wiping his face during the semi-final against Rafael Nadal. –Reuters

Federer, 30, battled hard to break Nadal in game seven of the third set but the Spaniard broke back immediately to level things up and Nadal went on to take the tiebreak on his sixth set point.

A tense fourth set went with serve with Nadal looking stronger mentally, continuing to chase down balls from seemingly impossible situations.

He saved a break point from Federer in the eighth game and broke the Swiss in the following game.

But the Spaniard still had to fight hard to serve out for victory, saving two Federer break points, including an astonishing retrieval onto the baseline which the Swiss then wafted wide.

Federer, seeking his first Grand Slam win in two years, had not dropped a set until yesterday’s semi-final but Nadal, who now leads their overall series 18-9, once again proved he has the edge on the biggest stage.

The match was their 10th Grand Slam encounter, putting them equal with Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe for most matches played at Majors. – AFP