The big news is Federer vs. Nadal for obvious reasons, but I’m glad Dimitrov finally had a breakthrough in a major. He’s only 22 but people have been talking about him for so long it seemed like everybody was waiting for this. He won his first title in October and this was his first time going beyond the third round at a Grand Slam event. I hope he and Raonic can keep this up.
And it is indeed Stan who comes out on on top in the 4th set to win! I got to see most of the last set including all of the tie break. Looks like it was a pretty tight match, but the better man (in all ways) won!
Could we possibly have an all Swiss final?!
It’s nasty indeed (ugly photo here) it’s a testament to how tough the man is that he can even play.
As a Federer fan I’d love to see him get one more Open, but I’ve gotten used to him losing to Nadal.
Sorry Fed fans, but if there’s one thing that’s clear it’s that Rafa owns him. Tonight’s win makes it 23-10 in their H2H – after that first set, pretty much routine as well.
Considering he is also 12-0 against the newly minted Swiss #1, I like his chances for a Sampras-tying 14 GS.
Fed’s 17 won’t be looking that far if that happens.
I was kind of hoping for an all-Swiss final, just because I think that Rafa is going to pounce all over Wawrinka. I’d love to see Stan win, but it’ll take a miracle. Rafa is a beast.
Fed’s problem against Nadal H2H is that Nadal frequently lost in early rounds on grass and hard courts early in his career.
Fed never got to play Nadal H2H on his better surface.
But Fed was so good on Clay, that he frequently played Nadal on Clay in the finals of tournaments. If Federer was not as good on Clay his overall H2H record against Nadal would have been better.
Federer is at least step behind Nadal now. More than anything, it is probably the 5 yr difference in age.
Rafa played an excellent match against Roger today. It looks inevitable that he will win at last 17 Grand Slams before he finishes.
Eugenie Bouchard, incidentally, was the first Canadian in** thirty years** to even make it to a Grand Slam semifinal in singles, male or female.
Nadal’s worst performance on grass has been the last 2 years. Otherwise, Federer beat him in the 2006 and 2007 Wimbledon Finals. In between that Nadal won 2 titles and had another final.
Incidentally, Nadal has the chance to become the first man since god knows whom to win all Grand slam titles at least twice.
Thought it would go At least four. Third set Fed couldn’t get his forhand to work worth a damn.
Li Na wins the Australian Open.
Her second major and first Australian Open.
I stayed up for the match since I am quite a dedicated Nadal fan. I’m not even mad. Stan deserved it and it’s great to see some new blood (even if he’s not so young) winning a major. Hopefully Rafa bounces back at the French and ties Sampras there. Great match by Stan though. He is and will be a great champion.
The third set was interesting for the could-Serena-Williams-beat-a-male question. Nadal was basically serving and hitting his ground strokes at about, or less than, the speed of Serena yet managed to win the set.
It looked like Warwinka was going to pull off the greatest choke in sport’s history for a while. At one point Nadal was playing shots from the corners of the court and just standing there, too crippled to run, and Warwinka would hit it back to him. It looked like how I used to play against my wife - no hitting winners, the longer the rally the better.
Congrats to Stan – gutted for Rafa.
Everybody who had Stan Wawrinka winning this tournament two weeks ago, take a bow. 
It’s cool to see a new winner, and I’m glad to see Li Na back in the winner’s circle, too.
Stan the man!!!
Love Nadal, but very happy to see Stan win the tournament. I’m sure Federer is thrilled.
I’m not surprised he tanked the 3rd set. For the first set & two games he OWNED Nadal. Then Nadal gets injured and Stan wins the 2nd set. This is where the brain starts fucking with you. Because how to shut out the thoughts of, “I’m up 2 sets to love against and my opponent is injured. Holy shit - I’m actually going to win a fricking slam!” That’s a lot of thinking to shut down. I’m glad he was able to settle down and win it in the 4th. I’ve adored him for years and was very glad to see him win.
Roger tweeted this today, saying “Great being able to spend the week with the Australian Open champ”
Any news/rumors on when Venus Williams is planning to retire? At least in singles, it seems like forever since she was at her top game.
I know it’s old news now, but after a victory in Dubai, I don’t know if Venus is considering retirement just yet.
Roger won in Dubai, going through Djokovic.
I think that while it is unlikely, he definitely has what it takes to win another major. I would not retire if I were him at this point, either. He can still beat the top guys and is a huge threat.