Eurosport - Mon, 02 Feb 18:38:00 2009
We look at how the world is reacting to Rafael Nadal's thrilling five set victory over Roger Federer in the Australian Open final.
Following is a selection of newspaper headlines illustrating global media reaction to the news.
SWITZERLAND
BaslerZeitung
NADAL SETS THE BENCHMARK
Roger Federer now seems unable to win against Rafael Nadal. What everyone was talking about Federer achieving not long ago, now seems possible for Nadal. If Federer does manage to equal or better Sampras's record, it seems we already know the name of the man who will challenge it next.
Blick
TEARS FOR THE FUTURE
Almost all legendary sports stars had their legendary rivals. The pain of yesterday's defeat will be temporary. Nadal is the Joe Frazier of the present day. He is strong, he is young and he is winning. But the greatest, the unequalled, the Muhammad Ali of tennis? In the end that will be Federer.
TagesAnzeiger
NADAL MAKES FEDERER SUFFER
After already toppling Federer from the top of the world rankings, and replacing him as Wimbledon champion, Nadal has now stormed Federer's last stronghold by beating him at a hardcourt Grand Slam tournament. But Federer's chances of breaking his sport's most important record remain good.
The consistency which he has shown in recent years is unique and will not be matched by Nadal.
SPAIN
Marca
GOD NADAL
Federer cannot fathom how his perfect tennis can be defeated again and again by the fury of Nadal. That's why he was crying.
And it hurts Nadal. But he will carry on beating him because he cannot help himself.
ENGLAND
Daily Telegraph
RAFA FINISHES THE REVOLUTION
Tennis has entered the neo-Rafaelite age. Only five men have won all four Grand Slam titles over their careers - Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Don Budge and Andre Agassi. Now Nadal, and not Federer, is the more likely to join that quintet.
The Guardian
NADAL'S HOLD OVER FEDERER MAKES EVERYTHING POSSIBLE
So much has been written and discussed about the possibility of Roger Federer being, or becoming, the greatest player of the modern era that Rafa Nadal's extraordinary career has hardly been considered in that light. Yet here he is, at 22 years old, having just won his sixth major at the Australian Open. At this age ¬ Federer had won two.
ITALY
Gazzetta dello Sport
NADAL MAKES FEDERER CRY
It will be interesting to see in the next tournaments how Federer reacts to the new situation. The tears which he could not stop during the ceremony were a surprise but also a moment of weakness, or maybe of anger for a title which eluded him. Corriere della Sera
FOR THE SWISS IT IS A NIGHTMARE
Certain moments last forever. Roger Federer left us suddenly after four hours and 23 minutes of an incredible video game that is not for sale.
FRANCE
L'Equipe
NADAL, REAL TOUGH NUT
If he (Federer) does not change anything, it may harm his chances in the important matches of beating a rival who now is the only master of the field.
Rafael Nadal can see higher, further. He now is in the best position to take over from Rod Laver and complete a Grand Slam.
AUSTRALIA
Melbourne Herald Sun
FEDERER GOES TO WATER
Rafel Nadal was born to play Roger Federer. There is no other player on the planet whose style, approach and mind bruises Federer's silken craft as often or as menacingly as the unmerciful Mallorcan.
UNITED STATES
New York Times
NADAL DEFEATS A TEARFUL FEDERER IN AUSTRALIA
Nadal said that he was convinced Federer would beat Sampras's record. Perhaps Federer will, but for now Nadal, however respectful, keeps blocking his path.
SOUTH AFRICA
The Times
NO TIME FOR TEARS OF THE FED
Federer was entitled to his tears. Tennis is a game of great tensions, especially when it runs to five sets in a Grand Slam final. Win or lose, you need release and a bit of weeping is better than smashing your racket against a wall.
Comment 84 - 103 of 163
Eurosport: fix the "invalid" filter. This is getting frustrating.
What's "invalid?"
CoolVybz shut thee f**k up
roger tried to steal his thunder once more
Federer needs a bit of muscles thats all. when you,re physically tired the muscles will keep the body going. Nadal is the only one that can potentially beat federer in a grandslam final and Federer is the only one that can potentially beat Nadal in a Grandslam final so all is not lost for roger I think with age and also the fierce challenge of Nadal, Roger has got two more grandslam titles in the bag.
famanfu yahoo com
Let's not confuse aesthetics with results. In tennis, to beat your rival you have to be strong physically, technically, and mentally. Roger's post-match theatrics showed his weakness. Overall Rafa is better than Roger. In sports results is the only measure of success, period.
No one mentions Verdasco as a contender... I believe that even Verdasco could've beaten Roger in the final.
and i like Nadal more than Federer.
i hate the Spanish newspaper Marca. they always go making up stories about football ransfers, and now they are being far too biased towards Federer.
Mohammed Ali/Joe Frazier. Magic Johnson/Larry Bird. Monica Seles/Steffi Graff. Agassi/Sampras. Now you have Federer/Nadal! Two years ago men's tennis was practically boring 'cause Federer was all alone at the peak of tennis just like dream team 1 was alone in 1992 Barcelona olympics. A rival in the name of Refael Nadal is born and men's tennis is alive and u predictable again. I great sportsman needs a rival...Roger Federer's river showed up at wimbledon 2008. Nadal is good, real good but he will still remain the 2nd best regardless of rank. Agass/Sampras rivalry is missed but we now have a replacement.
fed hav lost wimbledon n aust open to nadal..fed may lose his girlfriend mirka to nadal soon..nadal u r the man..
Federer the greatest player of all time..
Rafa the greatest competitor of all time..
Ola m my anger is directed at the so-called experts, I'm not insulting you. Anyone who can beat me five times is certainly better than me and consecutively!? My goodness, on different surfaces!? Come lets stop being delusional here. He was crying because deep inside he knows it. Period.
I personally can't see Rafa overtaking Roger for one v. simple reason. His style of game. Today he's calling for less hard court t'ments as they take a toll on his body. Roger has been playing & winning hard court t'ments for years & he has never complained & he has less injuries than Rafa. If nadal played the easy flowing tennis that Federer does, he would be able to cope better. We shall see what happens this year. For 2 years Rafa did precious little after Wimbledon as he was tired, last year he took the rest of the year off after the USO because of his knees. If he can change his style & still win using far less effort, then he might manage to beat Roger's records.
when it goes to insult and bad mouthing ,immoral doesn't allow me to complete this discussion
The fact that we are here arguing about who is better shows that Roger isn't so great. Look at both player's faces, one has a smile on it, the other has tears. Nadal smile through the losses as well. It does not F***king matter what the other players say, believe me they will be singing a different tune tomorrow. That's why Nadal is attractive anyway, stick it up the so-called experts' a***s.
coolvybs , ure pathetic,..telling federer hasnt got mental strength ,..lol he has it the most! U must understand first that Federer is an Intelligent( very intelligent ) individual... and with that,.. people are often much more emotional and sensitive,...its easy for nadal to suppress his feelings,.. coz (u cant deny it, even though he is a great champion) he's abit superficial... I admire federer how he control his emotions which are far grater than nadal's... It's a victory over urself,.. which made him the greatest of all time,..
dont think i disrespect rafa,..but U must admit that time federer spent learning languages and stuff,. nadal spent in gym pumping his arm,.. Federer is the top of the mental control as u can get... but the problem against nadal is also in head,.. but not in that way u think,..
Im rly disappointed federer lost, aswell, but Rafa deserved a trophy no doubt ,..
Nevertheless,.. I bet with rafa holding 20gs tittles and roger only 13-15,.. the world will remember Rafa only as 'Federer biggest rival' Coz Rog has cut a place deep in history of tennis,.. !
tennis for wimps!!
Show respect to a weeping boy who just lost a match? If he was ten I could understand that, but a grown man? That was pathetic, I was waiting for him to throw a tantrum. Mental toughness is a must in tennis, Fed hasn't shown any, one of the reasons Nadal is in a different class altogether. Still, his win was a stroke of luck in the eyes of many.
That kind boy Rafa Nadal always thinkig about Federe's feelings!!!It's a shame of Roger!!!Almost never let Nadal to take the full joy of his victory!!!
Nadal says alot of times and you can see this in the you tube not in articles only " in my opinion i think Federer is the best player ever" ,Agassi said "every one has a great shot but all Federer shots are great ","with Sampras there was a way to go to him but with Federer there is no way ", even if Murray said " it is great for me to beat 5 times the best player un the history " a lot of players like "Sampras ,Lendl,Djokovicand Davydenko" said before that Federer is the best player ever
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