Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland kisses the trophy after defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain during the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, yesterday. - AP
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP):
Stanislas Wawrinka added a win over Rafael Nadal to his list of firsts in a stunning run to his maiden Grand Slam title, extending his rival's injury-cursed run at the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 upset in yesterday's final.
The 28-year-old Wawrinka had never taken a set off Nadal in 12 previous meetings, but attacked from the start against the 13-time major winner and regained his nerve after dropping the third set against the injured Spaniard.
Nadal appeared to be on the verge of retiring in the second set, when he hurt his back and needed a medical timeout, but he refused to quit.
"It's really not the way you want to win a tennis match, but in a Grand Slam final I'll take it," said Wawrinka, the first man in 21 years to beat the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players en route to a Grand Slam title.
Nadal was a hot favourite to win at Melbourne Park and become the first man to win each of the four Grand Slam tournaments twice in the Open era - instead, his injury curse struck again. It remains the only major he hasn't won at least two times.
"Stan, you really deserve it," Nadal said. "Luck was against me today, but you really deserve it."