Top Seven Tennis Matches of 2012: (Part 2) – Tennis Special
3. Nadal beat Federer – Australian Open Semi-finals
World number two, Rafael Nadal, reached his second title match at the Melbourne Park, as he rallied past four-time champion, Federer in four sets 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-4 in the semi-final at the Australian Open.
The 10-time Grand Slam winner needed three hours and 42 minutes to come out victorious from a marathon battle.
Federer had the edge in the opener but Nadal put the brakes on Fed Express from the start of second set, capturing five games in a row from 2-2.
Nadal looked like a superhuman during this contest, playing some unbelievable shots after reaching the most difficult balls.
The Spaniard improved his head to head record against the Maestro to 18-9 after this win.
2. Djokovic beat Murray – Australian Open Semi-final
World number one, Djokovic, showed the level of his resilience, as he found his way back from a deficit of one set to edge past three-time Grand Slam finalist, Andy Murray, in a classic contest. The Serbian won 6-3, 3-6, 6-7(4),
6-1, 7-5 in four hours and 50 minutes.
Djokovic was in the driving seat earlier on, as he grabbed the opener 6-3 and had a 2-0 lead in the second set. However, Murray bounced back and clinched the second and third sets 6-3 and 7-6(4) respectively.
The Serbian raised the level of his game and looked a completely different player from the start of the fourth set, losing only one game to close it 6-1.
Djokovic was close to the finish line, leading 5-2 in the decider but now it was Murray’s turn to fight back, as he levelled the score at 5-5. The Brit created three break opportunities in the 11th game but could not
capitalise on them, dropping two straight games and losing 5-7.
The Serbian said afterwards, "It was so close. Both of us believed that we could win, and that's how we played. It could have easily gone the other way. He was [a] couple of points away from winning the match, so I was lucky to
go as a winner."
Murray was aiming to take his revenge, as he was beaten by Djokovic in straight sets in the 2011 title match.
1. Djokovic beat Nadal – Australian Open final
In the longest Grand Slam championship match of the tennis history, Djokovic edged Nadal in a five set epic 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 at the Australian Open final. Both players fought like giants for a record five hours and 53
minutes.
It was also the longest match at the Melbourne Park. The Serbian was trailing 2-4 in the final set but fought back from there to enter his name in history books.
Djokovic and Nadal took the sport to a new level during this match. It was hard to believe that they are humans and it looked like two aliens with superpowers were playing tennis that day.
This was the third consecutive Grand Slam final that featured these two players, with the Serbian winning all of them. Djokovic stretched his winning streak against Nadal to seven matches, all of them being title matches.
Djokovic declared this as the biggest win of his career. He said, "I think [it] comes out on the top because the fact that we played almost six hours is incredible. I'm very proud just to be part of this history. I was very flattered
to be playing in front of Rod Laver, and in front of 15,000 people that stayed until 1:30 a.m."
The Serbian became just the fifth player in men’s tennis to clinch three straight Grand Slams, joining Pete Sampras, Rod Laver, Federer and Nadal.
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