Stanislas Wawrinka (foto ©Alvaro Gandara Astray) reached the final defeating Andrey Golubev, Alejandro Falla, had a walkover at the third round (Vasek Pospisil), Tommy Robredo, Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych. So far he has lost a total of four sets: one to Falla in the second round, two in the quarter-finals to Djokovic and one in the semifinals to Berdych. This is his first ever final in a Grand Slam tournament.
Rafael Nadal reached the final defeating Bernard Tomic, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Gael Monfils, Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov and Roger Federer. So far he has lost only one set in the quarter-finals to Dimitrov. It’s at his third final at the Australian Open after winning the 2009 one and lost the 2012 one.
Stanislas Wawrinka starts the match with a low percentage of first serves but Rafael Nadal begins with a slow pace and rather short strokes so he doesn’t exploit that and in the fourth game he’s the one who gets broken. The Swiss is much more aggressive and able to keep the rallies short and in the sixth game has another break point but the Spaniard wins his service game. In the ninth game Wawrinka serves for the set, offers three break points wasted by Nadal with bad returns and eventually wins the first set 6-3.
In the second set Stanislas Wawrinka keeps on being aggressive and breaks Rafael Nadal in the first game. The Spaniard serves more and more slowly and at the end of the third game calls the trainer to get his lower back treated. Nadal has physical problems, struggles with his service and in the fifth game gets broken again. In the seventh game, the Spaniard offers three break points but wins his service game. In the eighth game Wawrinka wins the second set 6-2.
In the third set Stanislas Wawrinka has two break points in the first game but Rafael Nadal wins his service game. The Swiss gets distracted and in the second game incredibly the Spaniard breaks him. Wawrinka knows he missed an opportunity to close the match and gets nervous. Nadal plays a little better and in the ninth game serves for the set, offers two break points but eventually wins the third set 6-3.
In the fourth set Stanislas Wawrinka tries to focus again but now Rafael Nadal plays more than decently. In the second game, the Swiss has two break points but the Spaniard wins his service game. The set remains balanced until the sixth game, when the Swiss manages to break the Spaniard. Nadal reacts in the next game breaks him back but loses it again in the eighth game. In the ninth game Wawrinka closes the fourth set 6-3 winning the match and the Australian Open title.
Rafael Nadal certainly can’t be happy with this final. He demands a lot to his body and every now and then pays the price. The important thing for him is that there are no serious problems so that he doesn’t need to stop his activity. Obviously he’ll be even more motivated in the next major tournaments.
Stanislas Wawrinka has played an extraordinary tournament in which he confirmed the improvements already seen in 2013. For the circumstances of the final, he deserved the victory mostly in the earlier rounds but he’ll certainly be a very tough opponent in the next Grand Slam tournaments.
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