Nadal Federer Highlight Highlight Down Champion

Tennis Betting Lines

Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The biggest match to this point at the 2012 Australian Open will occur Thursday (3:30 a.m. et) when former world No. 1s Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer lock horns in a semifinal showdown at Rod Laver Arena, as the two all-time greats will renew arguably the greatest rivalry in modern tennis. The 25-year-old Nadal and 30-year-old Federer will meet for a 27th time on the ATP World Tour, with the gritty Spaniard leading the all-time series, 17-9. Nadal is 7-2 in their Grand Slam matchups, including wins in their last four such encounters.

Nadal is a 10-time major champ and the reigning French Open titlist. Federer, who will appear in his 30th Grand Slam semifinal, is a men's record 16-time Grand Slam winner, including a men's Open Era record-tying four Aussie championships.

The Nadal-Federer winner will meet Friday's Novak Djokovic-Andy Murray victor in Sunday's lucrative final here. Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have combined to win seven of the last eight Aussie Open championships.

The 22-year-old became the first Belarusian woman to reach a Grand Slam final since Natasha Zvereva did so at Roland Garros in 1988 when she was representing U.S.S.R.

In doing so, she ended another memorable performance Down Under by Clijsters, who has stated she will retire after the Summer Olympics in London.

Azarenka held serve with relative ease the rest of the opening set to stay in the driver's seat, but Clijsters began her comeback by breaking at love on Azarenka's service game in the second.

But Azarenka, riding a 10-match winning streak after winning in Sydney earlier this month, earned her fourth break of the match to serve for a spot in the finals.

Azarenka will face the winner of the Petra Kvitova-Maria Sharapova match. The champion will become the new World No. 1, supplanting Clijsters' quarterfinal victim, Caroline Wozniacki.

Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka will square off in the Australian Open final after they each survived tense three-set semifinal matches on Thursday. Azarenka, seeded third, ended Kim Clijsters' run at consecutive Australian Open titles by besting the four-time Grand Slam champion, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, at Rod Laver Arena.

Kvitova beat Sharapova in straight sets to win her first Grand Slam last July, but trailed early against the three-time major titlist on Thursday.

comments

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•    Happy Aussie Day to all my Boyz down under!!! XXXO

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•    Well choreographed for most of the match, VinciRrani's teamwork breaks down in the last game & KuzNareva break to take the 2nd set, 6-4.

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•    #RandomThoughts I like a girl that's shorter then men 5"8

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•    Muchos conocedores (?) concluyen que Federer se bloquea contra Nadal, que el español le tiene comida la moral al Suizo...Como el Barca al RM

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•    I'm NOT just making a record... I'm making a Difference! (You'll be Remembered) #Champion

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•    Sweet, Kim Clijsters was at #fedal match. Things you don't get pointed out with Patrick McEnroe vs. MartIna. OMG, Feli + Wilson advert <3

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•    We're out about to set this place on Fire without a match or lighter #tinieearlydoors

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•    Terminando de ver un Partidazo! Elena Dementieva vs Kim Clijsters Filderstadt 2005... Nostalgia

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•    Bout to head to bed...the game just pissed me off. Goodnight tweetersVxtXA5

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