With eight slams to his name at the age of 22, Rafael Nadal came into the 2009 Australian Open as the number one seed due to his stellar 2008 season, which led to him becoming world number one for the first time, overtaking Roger Federer. The men's singles tournament is considered to be one of the best and most impressive in history, due to the quality and intensity of the matches; two of which Nadal was a victor of.
First Four Rounds: Easy For Nadal
There were questions surrounding Nadal’s form as he headed into the first Grand Slam of the year, as he had lost out on a title at the Qatar Open ATP 250 tournament in Doha to Frenchman Gaël Monfils. However, all doubts were erased as he eased through his first four rounds cleanly and efficiently without dropping a set. He defeated Christophe Rochus, Roko Karanušić, Tommy Haas and Fernando González to reach the quarterfinals without losing more than four games in a set to bring up an encounter with Gilles Simon.
Quarterfinal: Another Simple Win
The head to head between Simon and Nadal stood at 2-1 in Nadal’s favour, but Simon in one way seemingly had the upper hand; he had won their previous meeting at the 2008 Madrid Masters, also played on a hardcourt. Therefore, Simon had a chance to defeat Nadal as he had proved he could, but the Spaniard was too strong and brushed past Simon in straight sets.
Semifinals: Instant Classic
Nadal was set to meet compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals, which remains Verdasco’s only Grand Slam semifinal to this day. Nadal lead the head to head 7-0 and was the clear favourite to advance to the final. Nobody expected the thriller that followed; filled with twists and turns, the two men were on court for five hours and 14 minutes, then the longest match in open era history and since then, the second longest (following the 2012 Australian Open final, which lasted five hours and 53 minutes).
After losing the first set in a tiebreak, Nadal fought back and claimed the next two sets before losing the fourth in another tiebreak. Nadal went on to claim the final set, winning 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-7(1), 6-4 as Verdasco double faulted match point down in an exhausting match that left Nadal weak after his victory, collapsing on the court.
Final: Nadal Triumphs
Nadal, exhausted and drained from his epic semifinal, came into the final against Roger Federer as the clear underdog due to his hampered physical condition. Nevertheless, this did not prevent him from pulling off the perceived impossible and stopping Federer’s attempt to equal Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slam titles. In his first hardcourt Grand Slam final Nadal won another five set thriller, somehow overcoming Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-2 to win his first hardcourt Grand Slam title and becoming the first man in history to hold three Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces, clay, grass and hardcourt.
What It Meant
Nadal’s win was clearly important to himself emotionally and his career, as now he was only one Grand Slam away from becoming only the second man in history to win all four Grand Slams plus an Olympic gold medal (he completed this the following year, when he won the 2010 US Open). Nadal commented on how much the win meant to him, saying “To receive this trophy from Rod Laver is a dream for me.”
This year, Nadal is attempting to become the first man in open era history to win all of the four Grand Slams twice. He ironically plays Verdasco in the first round, an interesting dynamic considering they met so late in the tournament in 2009. However, we may be in for another classic between the pair all the same.