Australian Open 2012: Rafael Nadal Defeats Roger Federer In Another Classic

And in the 27th meeting, it was Rafael Nadal who came out the victor.

Three hours into their semifinal match, Nadal misleadingly led Roger Federer two sets to one, but it had been a much closer match throughout (minus the 6-2 second set). Nadal held on to win the match in four sets, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

They hadn’t met in a Grand Slam that wasn’t a final since the French Open in 2005 but Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were tied at a set a piece in the 2012 Australian Open semifinals.

This winner. That winner.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal started off the second set by breaking each other’s serve.

With Nadal serving at 1-1, a stat appeared on the screen. The player who won the first set in the last 17 of 19 meetings had won the match between the two former World No.1s. Nadal served out the game with a serve out wide to Federer’s backhand to bring him back on serve and up 2-1.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have faced each other 26 times before their semifinal Australian Open match.

There are no secrets. The former World No. 1 stretched and hustled like it was their first head-to-head match, making the match seem like there was more at stake then a trip to the finals Down Under.

Heading into the third set, it seemed the match was getting away from Maria Sharapova. She came out and ran away with the first set, putting Petra Kvitova away 6-2 after it opened back-and-forth. But in the second, she lost her serve as the wheels came off, leading to a 6-3 set in favor of Kvitova. It seemed like momentum was in Kvitova’s favor.

In the third, it was a game of who could actually hold the serve, instead of the typical battle to break. Sharapova went down 2-1, following a Kvitova break point, but rallied right back with a break of her own. With the set knotted at two, one had to wonder if Sharapova could actually find her serve and hold.

The second set of the 2012 Australian Open semifinal matchup between Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova stood in complete contrast to the first. Where Sharapova dominated the first set, turning 2-2 into a 6-2 win, Kvitova fired right back and seemed to figure something out right from the start of the second. She put Sharapova on the ropes quickly and the only question seemed to be how quickly she’d finish the job.

Kvitova raced out to a 3-0 lead before Sharapova finally got her bearings, staggering from a daze to mount some kind of challenge. It didn’t last long, though Sharapova manged to take three games to make the set somewhat respectable. But with a 5-3 lead, Kvitova had plenty of chances to force a decisive third set.

The beginning of the 2012 Australian Open semifinal matchup between Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova followed a pattern that stood out. Both players held serve and traded breaks, creating an even match right from the start, and perhaps signaling what’s to come.

Tied at 2-2, with each player converting their only break point chances, Sharapova took the advantage, breaking Kvitova’s serve in the fifth game to take a 3-2 advantage. It was Sharapova’s second shot at a break and second conversion, keeping her perfect for the match.

If Kim Clijsters beats Victoria Azarenka in the day’s first semifinal matchup, then this match becomes a de facto battle for the No. 1 ranking. And no matter who wins, that would make for a fantastic story. For Sharapova, it would be one of redemption. She lost her No. 1 ranking about four years ago and has had to battle back, both from shoulder surgery and the extreme inconsistency that followed.

For Kvitova, it would mark the culmination of what is becoming one hell of a hot streak. She won her final 12 matches of 2011 (including wins over most of the world’s top-ranked players in the WTA Championships) and has won seven of eight thus far in 12. Her lone blemish: a three-setter versus Li Na in the semifinals at Sydney. She is still relatively glitch-prone -- she lost to no-names in her first matches at both the U.S. Open in September (Alexandra Dulgheru) and at the WTA Tour China Open in October (Sofia Arvidsson); but she is coming up bigger and bigger against elite competition. A repeat win over Sharapova, whom she beat in last year’s Wimbledon finals, would be yet another step forward for the 21-year old from the Czech Republic.

The stakes for Wednesday night”s first Australian Open 2012 semifinal match are simple: Clijsters is aiming for her fifth slam title, and her fourth in the last seven slams in which she has actually competed. She is still perhaps the best women’s player in the game when healthy, but she is rarely actually healthy. Meanwhile, a win would not only advance Azarenka to her first slam final (this is her second semi-final after Wimbledon 2011), but bring her within one win of the No. 1 ranking.

The scenarios, as I understand them:

Tennis fans, and even sports fans in general, have been incredibly spoiled in recent years. It should be enough that two of the sport’s greatest players -- Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal -- found their peaks reasonably close to each other, and that Federer has managed to maintain a very high level of play past his prime. It should be enough that we have had the pleasure of watching these two men play 26 times on tour (and countless other times in exhibitions). But it goes beyond that.

I overuse the term “Styles make fights,” but it truly does apply here. Federer’s mastery of artistic geometry, the way he creates angles for shots that didn’t exist, the way his defense and offense are almost indistinguishable from each other ... they match up perfectly with Nadal’s speed and brute force. The two styles combine to make perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing combination in sports. That they only tend to play in tournament finals only adds to the intensity of what has become one of sport’s great rivalries. And that the rivalry has played out in different acts makes it all the more unusual and appealing.