A match that didn't disappoint

If you do not wish know the final as you have taped it or something, do not read any further

What a match it was, the intensity inside Rod Laver Arena was unbelievable.  Rod Lave himself was there on the 40th anniversary of his Grand Slam year.

The match started off a little slow, both players were a little tight and there were a few unforced errors from each side which resulted in them trading breaks of serve to start the match.  Roger had a difficult 1st set, but picked it up in the 2nd to take it 6-3.  The third set was as momentum swinging as ever and when Federer was up 40-0 on Nadal's serve, which would have let him serve for the set, I though he had it in the bag, but Nadal reached down and came up with some big serves and great shots to save the three break points.  He ended up taking the 3rd in a tie break.  The 4th set saw Federer almost lose it and it what was definitely the game of the match, federer saved a ton of break points to hold his serve at a vital point in the set.  He took the 3rd 6-3 as well, giving the fans what they wanted, a 5th and decisive set.  Nadal took it 6-2 in the final set, which saw Federer hit many unforced errors.  The set was not without exceptional shots however and the intensity level never festered.  You could see the toll the 4 hours plus was having on the players, going for winners much earlier in points forcing out a few more unforced errors.  The final game was a disapointing end to a fantastic match, but Nada was just too good for Federer.  Federer served up a double fault at a terrible time, which forced him to save two Championship points.  With those two saved, the momentum seemd to swing a little and the Federer fans could almost see him come back and break Nadal's, but on a critical deuce point, a fan yelled "out" on one of Federer's shots on the baseline which cause Roger to stop playing the point in an effort to challenge the call.  The linesman had called it in and Federer's objections to the ref were to no avail, bringing up another Championship point.  Federer, no doubt rattled by the extreme bad luck and terrible fan conduct, ironically hit a groundstroke long to nearly the same spot that the previous shot had been called out by the fan.

Nadal collapsed to the court taking his first slam on a hard court.

In a ceremony that saw Rod Laver himself dole out the trophies, an emotional Roger Federer had thanked his fans for the support and before he walked away, seemed to throw the gauntlet at Nadal with his words "I'll see you here next year".

There's not much more to say other than this was an amazing match and we were so lucky to have been able to go and see sports history as this match will no doubt go down as the best final in the last two decades.  The last final match to go to 5 sets was back in 1988 over 20 years ago. 

We've got some videos and tons of pictures of the match that once I have organized them, I will share them with all of you.

Cheers

Jesse

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