Rafael Nadal outlasts Grigor Dimitrov in five sets to reach Australian Open final

Rafael Nadal outlasted Grigor Dimitrov in an epic five-set match to reach the Australian Open final against Roger Federer.

No. 9-seed Rafael Nadal defeated No. 15-seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4 on Friday in Melbourne to advance to the Australian Open final, his first major final since the 2014 French Open.

The match was intense from the start—there were no semifinal jitters from either opponent—and it remained a tight battle throughout the entire four hour and 56 minutes.

Tennis' aging field: Federer, Venus and Serena Williams reach Australian Open final

After beating No. 3-seed Milos Raonic in straight sets in the quarterfinals, Nadal came out strong in the opening set, taking control of the points from the first ball. After a few exchanges of comfortable holds, Nadal broke Dimitrov’s serve in the fourth game and closed out the opening set 6-3 in 35 minutes. 

In the second set, Dimitrov, playing in his second Slam semifinal, made it known he wasn’t going away quietly. Though Nadal led the head-to-head over Dimitrov 7-1 heading into their Australian Open semifinal, the Bulgarian earned his only win less than four months ago in Beijing and he seemed to find that form in the second set. He employed a more attacking style and broke Nadal’s serve in the fourth game. After faltering on a chance to serve it out at 5-3, Dimitrov allowed Nadal to get back in—the Spaniard saved four sets points in the 10th game—but was finally able to convert on his fifth set point to take the second set 7-5.

In the third set, after a delay in play after the 11th game with because of a fan needing medical attention in the crowd, Nadal was able to hold his serve and win the set in a tiebreak. The fourth set continued to be a hard-fought battle, as Dimitrov dug deep and found his serve, which helped him to force another tiebreak. It was there where the 25-year-old showed extraordinary fight and ultimately took control, attacking the forehand and forcing Nadal into errors to send the match into a decider after nearly four hours of play.

If the first four sets were any indication of the level, the fifth set did not disappoint. Once again, Nadal and Dimitrov traded holds, fighting off break points and winning incredible, high-quality rallies after more than four hours of tennis. Serving at 3-4, Nadal fought off two break points to hold for 4-4 and then hit a backhand winner down the line to break Dimitrov in the next game for a 5-4 lead. On his third match point opportunity, Nadal finally served it out to seal the win and his spot in the final against No. 17-seed Roger Federer.

"It’s difficult to describe the emotions," Nadal said in his post-match interview on the court. "Grigor was playing unbelievable. It was a great match...The crowd was just amazing. Many, many thanks for that huge support. To qualify for the final like this means a lot to me. I never dreamed to be back in the final of the Australian Open...but, here I am."

The 14-time major winner, who is coming off several months off after an injury to his left wrist, will face Federer in Sunday’s final, a highly anticipated match-up of a classic tennis rivalry. Nadal leads their head-to-head record 23-11 and has beaten Federer in six of their eight Grand Slam final meetings, including wins at the Australia Open in the 2009 final and in the semifinals in 2012 and ‘14. 

Snapshots from the semifinals

Australian Open 2017 semifinals

Rafael Nadal

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

"I think Grigor played great. I played great. So was a great quality of tennis tonight. So just for me, is amazing to be through to a final of Grand Slam again here in Australia at the first of the year. Means a lot to me. I feel the love of the people here. They give me a lot of positive energy."

Rafael Nadal

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Grigor Dimitrov

Michael Dodge/Getty Images

"For sure Rafa deserves pretty much all the credit right now since he's such a fighter, such a competitor. At the same time it was an honor for me to play a match like that against him. It also shows me that I'm in a good way, I'm on the right path. I'm just trying to take all the positives out of this month in Australia. I'm sure I'm going to look back at that match and see what I could have done better. But at least one thing I can say is that I left it all out on the court. I'm proud of that. I'm proud of my team. Proud of my coach. Everyone that has taken care of me that month, it's been super intense. We can relax for a little bit now and get back to work."

Rafael Nadal

Michael Dodge/Getty Images

Grigor Dimitrov

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Grigor Dimitrov

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

"I just don't want to put my head down for a second right now, especially when I'm feeling good, I'm competing great. Physically I'm getting there. Despite the disappointment, that's going to feed me, I think, for the upcoming events. The one thing that's going to be hard for me the first three or four days, to really absorb that, like, Wow, I was so close. I need to appreciate it. At the same time I'm appreciating my run so far. It's been a great start of the year. It doesn't happen often that you come off from 10 matches in a row."

Rafael Nadal

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Rafael Nadal

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

"Well, was amazing for me, for me and I think for tennis, too. Is the combination of two different styles that makes the matches really special. Is different way to play tennis. Both of us, I think, having a lot of good success with these two different styles. I feel that this rivalry go not only in the tennis world. People from outside of our world talks about this, and that's good for our sport. Is good that we are back there."

Rafael Nadal

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Grigor Dimitrov

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Grigor Dimitrov

Michael Dodge/Getty Images

Venus Williams

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

"That moment was just joy. It was a heartfelt match. If the match is 6-2, 6-2, you know, the moment is kind of clear that it's going to happen. But she played so well. There was never a moment where she wasn't just hitting the ball amazing and striking the ball with just such precision. It's always very satisfying to be able to get through in such a big match against an opponent who was just on fire."

CoCo Vandeweghe

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

CoCo Vandeweghe

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

"I think Venus is an unbelievable competitor. Putting age aside, age is just a number. For her to be the great champion that she is is a great accomplishment. It doesn't matter if she's 36 or 18 or anything like that. For me, I appreciate her as an athlete, as a competitor, as well as I would probably be feeling joy and glee if I had won the match today. I think it shows kind of the human aspect of sports. I think that's a very important factor that sometimes gets pushed to the side. We're all human. We're not perfect out there. We're going to have some screw-ups. You're also kind of watching us have our high moments and low moments, as well."

CoCo Vandeweghe

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

"Yesterday for sure, also emotionally it was quite draining. It was really incredible. Physically, I mean, every day I played. It was difficult to heal the leg. It was difficult to do everything. But I don't want to make it about that. No excuse at all. It was tough, for sure. It would have been nice to have a day off, but I didn't. I tried my best today. I feel like I have nothing to be ashamed of."

Venus Williams

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Venus Williams

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Venus Williams

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

"What I will say about sport, I think why people love sport so much, is because you see everything in a line. In that moment there is no do-over, there's no retake, there is no voice-over. It's triumph and disaster witnessed in real-time. This is why people live and die for sport, because you can't fake it. You can't. It's either you do it or you don't. People relate to the champion. They also relate to the person also who didn't win because we all have those moments in our life. Is it an athlete's job to inspire? Inherently what I think athletes do at a top level inspires people, but each person takes that responsibility differently."

Venus Williams, CoCo Vandeweghe

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Venus Williams

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

"When I'm playing on the court with her, I think I'm playing the best competitor in the game. I don't think I'm chump change either, you know. I can compete against any odds. No matter what, I get out there and I compete...I know that it won't be easy. You have to control yourself, then you also have to hopefully put your opponent in a box. This opponent is your sister, and she's super awesome. It's wonderful."

Venus Williams

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Serena Williams

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

"We definitely talk. I think now more so than anything. Nothing can break our family. If anything, this will definitely bring us closer together, knowing that I want to see her do the best that she can possibly do. I know that she definitely wants to see me do the best that I can do. This is a story. This is something that I couldn't write a better ending. This is a great opportunity for us to start our new beginning."

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Serena Williams

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Serena Williams

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

"It definitely makes it uncomfortable. But 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. 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."

Stan Wawrinka

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Roger Federer

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Stan Wawrinka

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

"I cannot just be happy to win two sets against Roger. I just lost a five-set match in semifinal of Australian Open... I'm proud of myself, of the fight I give tonight and all the tournament. I think there is a lot of positive from this tournament, from Brisbane, from the month already. For sure I'm really sad and disappointed with a loss like that because to be that close to have won a semifinal, it can be only sad." But at the end I know I tried everything on the court. I came from two sets down. I change completely the momentum. I start to be extra aggressive because I had to change few things also physically. So I change my game with that."

Stan Wawrinka, Roger Federer

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Roger Federer

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

"At some point you reach a limit, and you just can't go beyond that. You can play them tight. You might win one of them. You just can't win back-to-back. Just not feeling free enough, you know, in your mind, in your body. That's where both, I guess, Rafa and myself said, Okay, enough of this already. Let's get back to 100%, enjoy tennis again, enjoy the practice. Not just practice, treatment, practice, treatment, match, treatment. All the time all you're doing is fighting the fire. From that standpoint, yeah, the six months definitely gave me something in return."