The first set took 75 minutes, and that was shorter than the third set, which lasted 79 minutes. And it was still early in Friday’s Australian Open men’s semifinal match between top-seeded Rafael Nadal and 14th-seeded Fernando Verdasco.
By the beginning of the fourth set, Verdasco was taking massages on changeovers and hopping on one leg and limping between shots as cramps began to overtake him. By the time the fifth set started, Verdasco was chewing gum and pounding aces.
And also one resounding double fault.
It was the one huge error at the end that gave the No. 1-ranked Nadal a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (1), 6-4 win over his fellow Spaniard. The 5-hour 14-minute match, the longest singles match in Australian Open history, ended with a Verdasco double fault, an inaccurate snapshot of the tennis the two played. It ended at 1 a.m. Saturday morning, and it left Verdasco lying on the ground but still smiling.
At the end, Verdasco hit 95 winners to Nadal’s 52, had 20 aces to Nadal’s 12, but made 76 unforced errors to only 25 for Nadal.
For his effort, Nadal has earned a match in the Sunday night final with second-seeded Roger Federer, who was found eating dinner at an outside table during the first set of Nadal’s epic win.
If Federer beats Nadal on Sunday, he will tie Pete Sampras for most major tournament titles at 14.
“I feel very happy more than tired,” Nadal said. “For sure, it’s going to be a tough final in one day and a half, because my opponent will be very difficult. But it was amazing for me to play in this match. It was one of the best matches in my career.”
Verdasco had come to terms with the loss quickly.
“It’s sad to play one match like this,” he said. “I have lost after five hours, but I need to be proud of the tournament I played. … It was an unbelievable match we both played. “
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Women’s final coverage: The SerenaWilliams-Dinara Safina Australian Open final started too late for this edition. Find out who won at chicagotribune.com/sports