Nadal Joins Aussie For Kvitova

Tennis Betting Lines

Nadal outdueled his great rival in five sets in the 2009 Aussie Open finale.

 

The second-seeded Nadal and No. 3 seed Federer are in the same half of the draw at a major for the first time since 2005. The two superstars have met in a men's record eight major finals, with Nadal going 6-2.

 

The Nadal-Federer winner will meet Friday's Novak Djokovic-Andy Murray victor in Sunday's lucrative final here. Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have combined to win seven of the last eight Aussie Open championships.

 

Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Victoria Azarenka ended Kim Clijsters' run at consecutive Australian Open titles Thursday, besting the four-time Grand Slam champion in a tense three-set semifinal battle. Azarenka, seeded third, reached her first major final by outlasting the defending champion, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, in two hours, 12 minutes at Rod Laver Arena.

 

If this was, in fact, the Belgian's final visit to the season's first major, she went down fighting. Azarenka broke Clijsters' second serve of the match, then fought off four break chances in the proceeding game.

 

Azarenka held serve with relative ease the rest of the opening set to stay in the driver's seat, but Clijsters began her comeback by breaking at love on Azarenka's service game in the second.

 

In the quarterfinals, Clijsters fought off four match points against last year's Aussie runner-up Li Na before pulling out the three-set victory.

 

Azarenka will face the winner of the Petra Kvitova-Maria Sharapova match. The champion will become the new World No. 1, supplanting Clijsters' quarterfinal victim, Caroline Wozniacki.

comments

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•    Maria sharapova is just amazing.. hope to see her in person..she's an icon..=)

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•    Real life is, to most men, a long second-best, a perpetual compromise between the ideal and the possible. (Russell)

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•    Well choreographed for most of the match, VinciRrani's teamwork breaks down in the last game & KuzNareva break to take the 2nd set, 6-4.

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•    Life is what you make it. I plan to make mine #Grand. #CoMo

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•    I'm NOT just making a record... I'm making a Difference! (You'll be Remembered) #Champion

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•    We're out about to set this place on Fire without a match or lighter #tinieearlydoors

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•    Terminando de ver un Partidazo! Elena Dementieva vs Kim Clijsters Filderstadt 2005... Nostalgia

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