Battle of the Spanish Lefties

Fernando Verdasco vs. Rafael Nadal, Spaniard vs. Spaniard, lefty vs. lefty, all the great parts for an epic match. Fernando Verdasco, seeded fourteen at the Australian Open did not let the difference in rankings affect how he played. He did not walk into Rod Laver Arena with the mindset that he was going to to lose to a fellow countryman, but instead he came out hitting hard and deep. This paid off giving Verdasco the edge from the beginning when he took the first set.

However, after that first set the match looked like it would be dominated by the hard hitting number one seed Rafael Nadal, but the match took a spin in the fourth set to the fans enjoyment. Verdasco pushed Nadal to a fifth set after fighting hard and winning the fourth set in a tie breaker.

As expected Nadal won the match 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, but the momentum throughout the match took the shape of sea saw. The two hard hitting lefties went back and forth alternating winners just trying to hold onto their serve. In the end it would come down to who was able to break the others serve first, with Nadal winning that war. However, Verdasco has much to be proud of; forcing the world's number one to play one of the longest matches in tournament history.

In the end I am not sure who I am more impressed with, Verdasco who had nothing to lose and everything to gain or Nadal who gave the match his all so that he could face Roger Federer in the finals for the first time on a hard court. Either way the two have brought some new excitement to the game and possibly a new rivalry. I'm sure this will not be the last that we have heard from Verdasco.

Although, the match lasted longer than Rafa could have liked, he has now earned a spot in the final to face the second seed Roger Federer, who only needs one more win to tie Pete Sampras' 14 major titles. In what should be an intense battle the match is going to come down to who has the best conditioning. Rafael is at a disadvantage; only getting one days rest compared to Federer's two and also playing a five set match compared to Federer's three set match, however I wouldn't put it past Nadal to take home the win.

Nadal has become a much better competitor on a hard surface, something that in the past years has been a weakness of his. He has grown more experienced and a lot stronger so I am giving the victory to Nadal in four close sets.