Nadal sets up dream final against Federer Venus stands between Serena and history
RAFAEL Nadal set up an Australian Open final against his great rival Roger Federer after edging Grigor Dimitrov in a classic five-set semi-final which stretched for nearly five hours yesterday.
Nadal pulled off one of his greatest victories in denying Bulgaria’s Dimitrov, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 in four hours and 56 minutes in front of a rocking Rod Laver Arena crowd.
Nadal showed his incredible fighting qualities to claw back from 0-30 down in the ninth game of the final set to break Dimitrov’s serve with two tremendous chases to put away the winning volley to lead 5-4.
Dimitrov bravely saved two match points as Nadal served out for the match before the Spaniard clinched victory, sinking to his knees in relief and jubilation.
Nadal said it was a “privilege” to face Federer in their ninth final, and first since the 2011 French Open.
“It’s a very special thing, I think for both of us to be in the final of a major again and have another chance to compete with each other again after a couple of years having some problems,” he said.
“I think both of us never thought we were going to be here again in the final of the Australian Open.”
Nadal, who downed Federer in the 2009 final, won through to his fourth Australian Open final and his 21st Grand Slam final. He leads Federer leads 6-2 in their major finals.
The 30-year-old Spaniard has been out of the Grand Slam limelight since his last title success at Roland Garros in 2014, as injuries sidetracked his glorious career.
Nadal is bidding to win his second Australian Open title and become the first man in the Open Era — and only the third man in history — to win each of the four Grand Slam titles twice.
Nadal and Dimitrov played each other to a standstill in Friday’s epic, with two tiebreakers going either way in a semifinal that ran well past midnight.
Federer, who beat fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in Thursday’s first semi-final, was watching on with relish as his rival tomorrow’s final was taken the distance in a draining physical battle.
The last time both men’s semi-finals went to five sets at any Slam was at 2009 Roland Garros, when Federer beat Juan Martin del Potro and Robin Soderling defeated Fernando Gonzalez. — AFP. SERENA Williams is on the cusp of making Grand Slam history, 19 years after her first appearance at the Australian Open — with only her greatest rival, sister Venus, able to stop her.
The 35-year-old American made her Grand Slam debut in Melbourne way back in 1998 and won the first of her major titles at the US Open a year later.
She has since accumulated 22 over an astonishing career, matching Steffi Graf’s Open-era record. One more today — her seventh in Australia — and she will hold the record outright, with only Margaret Court’s all-time mark of 24 left to achieve.
Williams has refused to talk about the possibility of finally surpassing the German, after intense pressure over the long-standing record took its toll at last year’s US Open, when she lost in the semifinals.
But she now has a golden chance of further cementing her place in history, and at the same time reclaiming the top world ranking that Angelique Kerber seized from her last year.
“It is what it is. Like I said from the beginning, I don’t really talk about that any more,” Serena said when pressed on what breaking the Graf record would mean.
Intriguingly, it is her older sister who could ruin her day, with Venus, 36, turning back the clock to make her first Grand Slam final since Wimbledon in 2009.
It was Venus who knocked Serena out in round two on her Grand Slam debut 19 years ago, and they have since played eight major finals against each other.
Serena leads 6-2 in those finals, and has an overall 16-11 win-loss record against her sibling.
While reluctant to speak about making history, she is happy to dwell on another all-Williams final, heaping praise on Venus. The elder Williams has beaten injuries and overcome Sjogren’s syndrome, a rare, energy-sapping autoimmune disorder, to reach a 15th Grand Slam final, nearly eight years after her last.
“After everything that Venus has been through with her illness and stuff, I just can’t help but feel like it’s a win-win situation for me,” she said.
“I was there for the whole time. We lived together. I know what she went through.
“It’s the one time that I really genuinely feel like no matter what happens, I can’t lose, she can’t lose. It’s going to be a great situation."
Serena said she never lost hope of meeting her sister again in a major final.
“This probably is the moment of our careers so far,” she said. “I never lost hope of us being able to play each other in a final, although it was hard because we’re usually on the same side of the draw.”
Venus, who has won seven Grand Slam finals and lost another seven, will be the oldest finalist at Melbourne Park in the Open era, joining a select list of 30-somethings including Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and her sister. —AFP. BERNIE Ecclestone is set to make a quick $29 million from Liberty Media’s takeover of Formula One after being deposed as the sport’s commercial supremo this week.
Liberty completed their $8 billion takeover on Monday and a subsequent filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed 86-yearold Ecclestone was offloading 950 599 shares.
The Series C Liberty Formula One common stock shares were trading at around $30.73 on Thursday.
Other associates of Ecclestone, including Martin Sorrell who is the chief executive of advertising agency WPP and served as an independent director of Formula One’s parent company, are also cashing in.
A total of 1 357 700 of the Nasdaq-listed shares are being sold immediately.
Ecclestone, who was replaced by Chase Carey as chief executive on Monday, will retain a holding of 896 639 shares after the offer.
The prospectus, posted on the Liberty Media website, also revealed financial details about the series that had hitherto been kept confidential.
Formula One recorded total revenue of $1.7 billion for the year ended December 31, 2015, with the majority (primary revenue) derived from race promotion, broadcasting and sponsorship arrangements.
Gross profit in 2015 was $557 million, compared to $571 million in 2014.
The revenue from television rights agreements in 2015 represented 32.3 percent of the total.
Primary revenue for the nine months to September 30, 2016, increased by $47 million on the corresponding period of 2015 with race promotion fees $39 million higher due mainly to variances in the calendar.
Last season had a record 21 races whereas 2015 had 20.
Broadcasting revenue over the nine months was up by $18 million following renewals with three broadcasters and other “contractual uplifts”.
As of September 30, Formula One had cash and cash equivalents of $675 million with the sport paying interest of $189 million. No dividends were declared or paid over the nine month period.
Payments to teams in 2015 came to $904 million, up from a previous $863 million. — Reuters.