Wawrinka stuns Nadal to win Australian Melbourne Tennis Open Final

Eighth seed Stanislas Wawrinka has taken his first Grand Slam title, winning the 2014 Australian Open in an upset over injury-troubled world number one Rafael Nadal. The victory was a long time coming for the Swiss star.


Top seed Nadal entered his 19th Grand Slam final appearing to be affected by a back injury, as Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka took a shock two-set lead in Sunday's Australian Open final, at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

Losing the first set 6-3 to eighth-seed Wawrinka, Nadal winced and clutched his back during the third game of the second set, requiring repeated treatment.

He went off the court for a medical timeout at 2-1 down, receiving further treatment on court at 4-1 down, and after losing the second set 6-2 with an ace from Wawrinka.

The Spaniard staved off his injury and dug deep in the third set, saving two break points before holding serve with a barrage of forehands, taking the set 6-3.

Wawrinka then captured a break in the fourth set, surrendered it, and then recovered to serve for the match, winning the final set 6-3 with an imperious forehand rocketing down the line. The final championship scores were 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

It was Wawrinka's first win over Nadal in 13 meetings, and the second in a series of dramatic career reversals after having knocked out Novak Djokovic in the quarter finals, following a loss of 14 consecutive matches to the Serb.

The 28-year-old, now the top Swiss after Nadal beat Roger Federer in the semi-finals, will stand third behind Nadal and Djokovic in Monday's ATP ranking. - NigerianEye

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