Length: 03:10
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Rafael Nadal Defeats Roger Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2 MELBOURNE, Australia -- Rafael Nadal thwarted tennis history on Sunday while opening a new chapter of his own. Nadal won his sixth Grand Slam tournament and first in Melbourne, keeping Roger Federer from claiming a record-tying 14th major with a five-set triumph at Rod Laver Arena. Nadal beat Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2 in a nearly four-and-a-half hour match lasting well past midnight locally into a simmering Monday morning in this southwest Australian metropolis. Federer, who fell to Nadal for the third straight time in a Grand Slam final after French Open and Wimbledon losses last year, turned in a routine service game to open the fifth set. But the Spaniard responded with four straight wins en route to taking the championship. Federer kept alive his hopes of a record-tying slam title when he matched Nadal at two sets all. Federer, who was seeking to tie Pete Sampras, blazed through the fourth set, breaking the world No. 1 to seal it 6-3 before Nadal dominated the fifth. Nadal had snatched a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 lead after taking the third set tiebreak 7-3 when Federer double-faulted after more than three hours on court. The Swiss second seed, however, rocketed through the fourth set in 44 minutes to send the men's final into a decider for the first time since 1988. He had broken Nadal in the second game of the fourth set to take a 2-0 lead before the Spaniard fought back to level it at 2-2. Federer, however, managed to save five break points in an astonishing fifth game, when both players produced outrageous winners from improbable angles. Staving off Nadal added to Federer's confidence and he immediately broke in the next game to take a 4-3 lead. The Swiss served out for the set when Nadal was unable to return a wide serve on set point. Nadal, showing no signs of fatigue despite his 5 hour, 14 minute victory over compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals, sealed the first set after an enthralling tussle that highlighted the burgeoning gap between the pair and the rest of the men's field. While Federer overhit two backhands that ballooned past the baseline to give Nadal the early break, he rectified the problem in the next game, holding three break points as the pair engaged in an intense baseline battle. Nadal's salacious topspin forehands were negated by Federer's returns which allowed the Swiss to break back. They both held serve until the sixth game before Federer slammed a forehand return off Nadal's second serve past the flat footed Spaniard to seal his second break of the set. But Nadal would not let up and an audacious angled backhand cornered Federer, who double faulted on break point in the next game. Nadal earned two further break points in the 11th game and capitalized by conjuring a topspin forehand pass that left the Swiss flatfooted at the net. Nadal withstood a challenge from Federer on his serve to seal the first set with a forehand winner. In the second set, Federer, was first to crack when he mistimed a forehand over the baseline to drop his serve. The 13-times grand slam winner, however, broke straight back to level at 3-3. Federer, seemingly aware he had to exploit what few opportunities he had before Nadal took over in the fifth set, piled on the pressure in the eighth game and finally took it on his fifth break point when Nadal's backhand smacked into the top of the net. Federer levelled the match after Nadal's forehand return sailed well past the baseline. Federer had numerous chances to take the third set but each time he let Nadal off the hook. The Swiss squandered three break points in the ninth game of the third set to hand Nadal a 5-4 lead. After levelling for 5-5, Federer held three more break points in the 11th game but the Spaniard produced some battling tennis to dig himself out of a hole. The Swiss held to send the match into the tiebreak. While Nadal lost the first point on his serve, it was the only time he seemed under pressure in the tiebreak and he clinched it when Federer's second serve on set point bounced long.