Rafael Nadal has set up a tennis fan’s dream Australian Open Final against Rodger Federer. The pair will contest an 18th Grand Slam decider in Melbourne on Sunday morning after Nadal saw off the challenge of semi-final opponent and 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov.
The 2009 champion took the first set and third, but the Bulgarian twice levelled the match. Both men had to dig deep in the deciding set, but Dimitrov’s serve was finally broken in the eighth game, allowing Nadal to serve for victory. 6-3 5-7 7-6 6-7 6-4 was the final score in an epic battle which lasted just under five hours.
The Spaniard is through to his 21st Grand Slam final, his first since 2014. Nadal and Federer last contested a major final at the 2011 French Open. The good news for Nadal is that he has won the last 4 times they have gone head to head for a Grand Slam title.
"It's difficult to describe my emotions." - @RafaelNadal is back into the final of a Grand Slam! 😠#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/U6sy3CAoC4
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2017
