Nadal continues to out power Federer on the biggest of stages.
Nadal took down Federer in straight sets 7-6 (4),6-3, 6-3 in a victory in which Nadal simply was the all around better player.
The Spaniard is now 23-10 against his biggest rival, and 9-2 in majors. Federer hasn’t bested Nadal in a Major since the 2007 Wimbledon final.
The match started out pretty evenly, with Federer saving three break points, which seemed to indicate an impending grudge match. But after the first set it was smooth sailing for Nadal, who even after taking a medical break to rebandage his hand with the gruesome blister it appeared that Federer was the main one nursing frustration.
Federer complained to the chair umpire about Nadal’s grunting, which he found inconsistent and bothersome. Overall, no matter what noises echoed from Rod Laver arena nothing could help Federer strengthen his backhand over Nadal’s. And as we’ve seen time after time, he then fell.
Nadal advances to the Final round where he will take on Stanislas Warwrinka on Sunday for a chance to win a 14th Grand Slam Title.