Novak Djokovic may have won the Australian Open this week but his match against Rafael Nadal might be remembers for a different reason, it was the longest Grand Slam single final in the history of professional tennis.

When all was said and done Djokovic toppled Nadal with a final score of 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5, good enough for the tennis star to grab his third Australian Open title.

The two men battled well into the night with the final shot being delivered at 1:37am local time. The win also put Djokovic in a special class as he became just the fifth men’s tennis player since 1968 to win three straight Grand Slam final

In celebration of his victory Djokovic tore off his shirt and ran around in celebration of his dramatic victory before heading to the side of the arena to celebrate with his fans.

The victory was likely hard on Nadal who has now lost seven straight finals to Djokovic extending back to March of last year. Nadal nearly managed to pull off the victory, having come from 5-3 down he won the fourth-set tiebreaker and was up 4-2 in the fifth set against a tiring Djokovic.

Novak would eventually respond in kind and break for a 6-5 lead and saved a break point before claiming the championship.

Before these two men met the longest major singles final was between Mats Wilanders and Ivan Lendl during the 1988 US Open, that match was four hours, 54 minutes.

Did you catch the Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal grand slam final round? Let us know what you thought.

Novak Djokovic Edges Out Rafael Nadal For Australian Open Victory is a post from: The Inquisitr

Thursday’s Australian Open match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal was exciting to watch but what might have been more exciting was something that happened after a particular single point.

The ballboy to the left of the screen is hit a fast ball and his fast hands manage to pluck it out of the air extremely quickly.

The coolest part? The ballboy was back on the line just as fast as he had made the play.

Here’s the video so you can judge the ballboys skills for yourself:

Notice how the young kid didn’t even pivot off his left foot to ensure he could stay on his mark and allow play to resume just as fast as it had ended.

Ballboy Makes Amazing Catch During Federer-Nadal Match is a post from: The Inquisitr

Rafael Nadal cruised into the third round of the Australian Open after a routine win over veteran Tommy Haas.

The 25-year-old Spaniard, a champion here in 2009, came into the Haas match with speculation over his fitness ringing in his ears. However, a 6-4 6-3 6-4 victory over an outgunned Haas suggested Nadal’s right knee, which he injured before the tournament, isn’t holding him back. After the match, Nadal told reporters:

“I’m very happy about how it improves, I’m able to play without a problem.”

In the women’s tournament, defending champ Kim Clijsters made easy work of her second round match against Stephanie Foretz Gacon of France. Clijsters dismantled her opponent 6-0 6-1 in a 47-minute display of poise and power, then rounded the day off by getnig the Rod Laver Arena crowd to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her younger sister.

Like Nadal, Clijsters arrived in Melbourne beset by rumors that she lacked full fitness – in her case, she retired with a hip problem at a warm-up tournament two weeks ago. However, she also showed no signs of strain.

Elsewhere in the Aussie Open, Roger Federer advanced with a walkover after his opponent Andreas Beck withdrew through injury, women’s top seed Caroline Wozniacki notched a 6-1 7-6 win over Anna Tatishvili of Georgia, and 11th seed Juan Martin del Potro looked comfortable while beating Blaz Kavcic 6-4 7-5 6-3.

We’ve also had our first bona fide upset of the event, with eighth seed and American number one Mardy Fish getting beat in straight sets by the unseeded Alejandro Falla. Falla won a tough match 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 7-6 (8-6).

Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters Through to Australian Open Third Round is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer rivalry is far from nasty – indeed, the two are never less than utterly respectful to one another. However, a small rift has appeared between the pair on the eve of the 2012 Australian Open.

The subject that divided them is not a new topic: the demands placed on players by tennis and its governing bodies. For some time now, top players such as Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have openly argued that the ATP calendar is overcrowded. This, they claim, increases injuries and exhaustion, potentially damaging players’ health in the long-term.

Yet if Federer feels the same way, we’ll never know. At the weekend, the Swiss said he dislikes players airing complaints publicly, as he feels it tarnishes tennis’ image.

This in turn brought a backlash from Nadal, who on Sunday said Federer was adopting his silent position to reinforce his image as a tennis gent. In comments translated from Spanish, the world number two said:

“I totally disagree. [For Roger] it’s good to say nothing. Everything positive. ‘It’s all well and good for me, I look like a gentleman,’ and the rest can burn themselves. Everyone is entitled to have their own opinions.”

The way Nadal sees it, only small changes need to be made to tennis to make things safer and more manageable. He also suggested that the unpopularity of Federer’s view may be telling:

“The vast majority of players have this same opinion. [Roger has] a different opinion. If the vast majority have one opinion, and a small minority think differently, maybe it’s them who are wrong.”

Does he have a point, readers? Are tennis players worked too hard? And does the amount of money they earn mean they lose the right to complain?

Rift Between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as Aussie Open Begins is a post from: The Inquisitr

Rafael Nadal is keeping his cool under pressure from an Argentina team that he and his fellow players from Spain will play during the Davis Cup final this weekend.

Speaking to The Herald Sun Nadal revealed:

“We’re under the same pressure as they are, we have to win the Davis Cup.”

Nadal has a good chance of bringing home a victory to Spain, he has lost just one singles rubber in the Davis Cup since he made his debut in 2004.

In the meantime Spain has experience on their side, having won four of the last 10 Davis Cup championships while Argentina over the same 10 year time span has finished in the runner-up position three times, never once winning the top prize.

Among his fellow teammates are 24th-ranked Fernando Verdasco, 20th-ranked Feliciano Lopez and number 5 ranked David Ferrer. If that lineup seems familiar it’s the same team that brought home int e2009 Davis Cup against the Czech Republic.

Also sounding cool and collected was Spain captain Alberta Costa who said:

“The Cup stays here” and “It’s hard to say who has the greater percentage chance of winning between the teams. I don’t like giving figures. If we do things well than we’ll have a chance.”

“One thing that’s sure is that all the matches will be long and tough.”

In the meantime Argentina captain Tito Vazquez says of his teams chances:

“They are favourites with (Rafael) Nadal and (David) Ferrer, but anything can happen, we could lose 1-4 or win 4-1.”

Who do you think will win the 2011 Davis Cup?

[Image via Neale Cousland / Shutterstock.com]

Rafael Nadal Keeps His Cool Under Pressure From Argentina Team is a post from: The Inquisitr

Novak Djokovic was nearly flawless on Monday night as he toppled Rafael Nadal in four sets  6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1.

Following a nearly perfect season the No. 1-ranked Djokovic improved his season to 64-2 with 10 titles after brilliantly hitting the ball from all angles, dominating his opponent at every turn during the 2011 U.S. Open.

The win gives Djokovic his third Grand Slam trophy of 2011.

Speaking after the match Novak told the press:

“In big matches, the winner is decided by small margins, a couple points,” while adding, “I guess the winner is the one who believes in victory more. I’ve had an amazing year, and it keeps going.”

The win also gives Djokovic a 6-0 record against No. 2 Nadal, all wins coming in finals. Among his wins against Nadal were three hard court victories, two clay wins and one grass victory at Wimbledon. Unlike his win at Wimbledon Novak didn’t celebrate this victory by eating part of the court as he did Wimbledon’s famous grass.

Taking a moment to reflect on his loss Nadal said of Djokovic:

“I’m disappointed, but you know what—this guy is doing is unbelievable.”

Can anyone stop Djokovic and his dominating play? What do you think about Novak Djokovic’s unbelievable record on the season?

Novak Djokovic Topples Rafael Nadal To Win First U.S. Open Title is a post from: The Inquisitr

After passing Pete Sampras’ record by winning his 15th grand slam tennis title, the question is being asked about whether Roger Federer can now be considered the greatest tennis player of all time.

There are two serious contenders for this title – not considering the likes of John McEnroe or Bjorn Borg, who were not as consistent over as long a period. Sampras and Rod Laver are the others who can be placed alongside Federer in this conversation. Federer now has 15 grand slams among 60 career titles in ATP tour events, compared to Sampras with 14 slams and 64 titles and Laver with 11 slams and 27 ATP titles.

The complication with going on pure statistics is that Laver spent much of the glory years of his career outside the ATP tour, as his run coincided with the advent of the open era. He played as an amateur until 1962, winning six of his slams including a Grand Slam in the calendar year of 1962 before turning professional, which disqualified him from the still-amateur ATP tour. It was not until 1968 that the open era began and he was allowed to return to the ATP tour, after which he completed a second calendar year Grand Slam in 1969 as a professional at the age of 31.

There are arguments either way. Three of the four slam tournaments that Laver played in were on grass, whereas Sampras and Federer have had to win on synthetic surfaces as well. On the other hand, Laver is the only one of the three to have won more than one French Open. You could argue that Sampras may have had the greatest array of opponents facing him, with the likes of Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi where Laver’s main rival was Ken Rosewall and Federer has struggled mightily with his nemesis in Rafael Nadal.

In fact, it is Nadal who stands in the way of Federer’s claims. Federer did not have to play the Spaniard in either of the last two Slams and it was Nadal who had beaten him in the final of three of the previous four slam tournaments. Federer’s 7-13 record against Nadal, including 2-6 in slams, is the greatest flaw in his record.

Personally, being an Aussie, I realise I am biased in thinking Laver would have the wood over the American and the Swiss champions. However, the six-year hole in his ATP record is only a potential for slam tournaments so we will never know if he could have reached 20 or more. Federer could still get somewhere near there… but only if Nadal stays injured.

Is Roger Federer the greatest tennis player ever? is a post from: The Inquisitr

Defending champion Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from Wimbledon after failing to recover from injury.

Nadal has been suffering from chronic tendinitis, a condition that gives him aching knees and forced him out of the Queen’s Club tournament leading up to Wimbledon. The injury is also believed to have played a role in his shock fourth round loss to Robin Soderling at the French Open.

Nadal’s withdrawal makes the top seeds for the event Roger Federer and Englishman Andy Murray.

Rafael Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon due to Injury is a post from: The Inquisitr