Australian Open 2012 live stream

Three years ago in the Australian Open final, Roger Federer looked as good as any time in his career coming into the match and was the favourite to win his fifth Aussie title over his arch-rival, Rafael Nadal.

Nadal has just come off a record five hour and 14 minute victory over Fernando Verdasco, and was as stiff a board when he stepped on court.
 
Somehow, some way, Nadal loosened up and pulled off one of the most significant wins of his career, in a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2 victory that brought the great Swiss to tears.
 
On Thursday night at the 2012 Australian Open, a red hot Federer will face a sore-kneed Nadal again and the result could very much be the same – or not.
 
"I'd like to play Rafa because of our great epic match earlier in the finals here a few years ago," said Federer he crunched 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarterfinals. "I'd like to get a chance to play him again here.”
 
The last time the two former number ones clashed in the semifinals of a major was at Roland Garros in 2005, a victory for the Spaniard. They have butted heads another eight times at Slams since then, with Nadal winning six of their eight clashes  -- all in finals. Nadal has taken Federer  four more times on clay at Roland Garros, twice at Wimbledon and here in Melbourne. Federer’s only two wins over Nadal were at 2006 and 2007 Wimbledon.
 
A semifinal confrontation is a refreshing change.
 
"It's true, we have been on opposite sides of the draw many times,’ Federer said. “I didn't even play [Andy] Murray last year, because we were ranked I guess 3 and 4, so we always ran into Novak or -- I basically always ran into Novak.  I guess it's a nice changeup.  Okay, it doesn't allow a rematch for the Australian Open final here if Murray were to play Novak.  But I think it's good for tennis that it changes up a bit."
 
Overall, Nadal owns a 17-9 record against the Swiss. In 2011, he bested him on hard courts in Miami and in the 2011 Roland Garros finals, but a revived Federer smoked the Spaniard in the ATP Championships.
 
Outside of Roland Garros, the Spaniard had a rough 2011 by his standards, falling to now No. 1 Novak Djokovic in six finals. After his marathon 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-3 win over Tomas Berdych on Tuesday in the Australian quarters where he was tight in the first two sets before he finally showed off of his 10-time Grand Slam winning form, he admitted that mentally, he wasn’t where he needed to be in the second half of last season.
 
Now it seems like the old spunky Rafa who runs to the baseline before the warm-up is back.
 
“Quarterfinals is not a bad result, but at the same time is not a good one,” Nadal said when discussing why his was nervous during the Berdych match even though he had beaten the Czech nine straight times coming in the contest. “Semifinals is a good one. Is start of season being in the four best of the first important tournament of the season. I think I finished the match playing at one of my best levels on this kind of surface, returning inside the court, making a lot of winners from with the first ball, the return, having serve, and winner. So that's something that I really miss a little bit, especially second part of the season last year. The first part of the season was positive, but winning with a different way, not that way. So most important thing too is the character. How I acted on court was completely the right one tonight.  For moments at the second half of the season last year wasn't.  Was not the perfect one. Today was the perfect one.”
 
If Nadal is close to perfect it will be a tough match for Federer, even though the Swiss has yet to drop a set en route to the semifinals and has looked lethal and at ease in knocking out two standout players in Bernard Tomic and  Del Potro. Nadal's wicked left-handed slice serve and hooking forehand into Federer’s one-handed backhand have always given him trouble since the two first met in Miami in 2004.
 
However, if Federer can do what he did to Nadal on a fast indoor hard-court in London and take Nadal’s balls to his backhand more on the rise and keep moving forward, he stands a fair chance to stem the Spaniard’s tide. He is on a 24 match-winning streak that dates back to his loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the US Open. In that time, he scored two wins in the Davis Cup match with Australia in Sydney, and won titles in Basel, Paris and the ATP World Championships in London.
 
During this fortnight, he has won 83% of his first serve points (the best total among those who remain in the tournament) and nailed 181 winners, which is just one below Nadal, even though the Spaniard has played four more sets.
 
Federer vs. Nadal 2 in Melbourne should be a classic.
 
I'm moving well,” Federer said.  “I'm serving well. I'm hitting the ball clean. Today I thought, you know, in a very hot day with, you know, fast conditions, I was able to control the ball.  From now on basically it's only night sessions, so it's going to change.  It's going to be an even easier sort of to get a better feel for the ball; then again, it's going to be more athletic and tougher.  I'm ready for that… I feel like it's been a quick week for me, and I feel great.”