More pics of Li Na with her husband and coach Carlos Rodriguez
It’s only 10.30 and it’s already crowded:
Ferrer and Wawrinka practising together:
Wawrinka’s coach, Roland Garros 2000 runner-up, Magnus Norman:
Kei Nishikori with coach Michael Chang:
Pictures and video of Serena Williams at practice
More pictures and videos to come soon!
Thanks a lot to Marianne for sharing her pictures!
Stanislas Wawrinka beat an injured Rafael Nadal to win his maiden Grand Slam title. Federer, Ferrer, Mauresmo… here are a few players’ reactions on Twitter:
But first Wawrinka’s coach, Magnus Norman:
Very proud of this team. Also great sportmanship from the Nadal camp. All good lads! #Stanimal pic.twitter.com/uCSZlXDFlg
— Magnus Norman (@normansweden) January 26, 2014
So deserving for Stan the man #nevergiveup #whatamatch #sohappy
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) January 21, 2014
Well done @stanwawrinka well deserved
— Tomáš Berdych (@tomasberdych) January 26, 2014
Amélie Mauresmo who knows a thing or two about players injured in a Grand Slam final:
Fantastique Stan Wawrinka !!!
C'est totalement mérité bravo Monsieur !
Et Rafa Nadal immense champion jusqu'au bout chapeau…
— AmelieMauresmo (@AmeMauresmo) January 26, 2014
It's always great to see dreams come true in sport.. Congratulations @stanwawrinka. What a way to break into the big league! Part of history
— Mahesh Bhupathi (@Maheshbhupathi) January 26, 2014
Come on Stan The Man#myhero#remember: pain is temporarily but victory is forever!!!
— Dominique Monami (@DominiqueMonami) January 26, 2014
Feliciano Lopez and David Ferrer congratulate Wawrinka and wish a good recovery to their pal Nadal:
Congrats to @stanwawrinka!! @AustralianOpen Champion. Y a @RafaelNadal por ser tan grande y no rendirse nunca!! #crack #numero1
— Feliciano López (@feliciano_lopez) January 26, 2014
Enhorabona a @stanwawrinka por su triunfo. Ánimo a @RafaelNadal y sobretodo que se recupere pronto!
— David Ferrer (@DavidFerrer87) January 26, 2014
Huge congrats to Stan for winning his first grand slam title!! Hope Rafa gets better soon! @stanwawrinka @RafaelNadal @AustralianOpen
— Sabine Lisicki (@sabinelisicki) January 26, 2014
and saving the best for last, Kim Clijsters, a few days ago:
Teaching my little man to be like Stan!!
:-))) pic.twitter.com/kMx4kSo2rc
— Kim Clijsters (@Clijsterskim) January 23, 2014
Rafael Nadal’s road to the final
| Round | Opponent | Score |
| R1 | Bernard Tomic | 6-4 ret. |
| R2 | Thanasi Kokkinakis | 6-2 6-4 6-2 |
| R3 | Gael Monfils | 6-1 6-2 6-3 |
| R4 | Kei Nishikori | 7-6 7-5 7-6 |
| QF | Grigor Dimitrov | 3-6 7-6 7-6 6-2 |
| SF | Roger Federer | 7-6 6-3 6-3 |
Stanislas Wawrinka’s road to the final
| Round | Opponent | Score |
| R1 | Andrey Golubev | 6-4 4-1 ret. |
| R2 | Alejandro Falla | 6-3 6-3 6-7 6-4 |
| R3 | Vasek Pospisil | WO |
| R4 | Tommy Roberdo | 6-3 7-6 7-6 |
| QF | Novak Djokovic | 2-6 6-4 6-2 3-6 9-7 |
| SF | Tomas Berdych | 6-3 6-7 7-6 7-6 |
Nadal – Wawrinka head to head
| Year | Tournament | Surface | Winner | Score |
| 2007 | Australian Open | Hard | Nadal | 6-2 6-2 6-2 |
| 2007 | Stuttgart | Clay | Nadal | 6-4 7-5 |
| 2007 | Paris Bercy | Hard | Nadal | 6-4 6-3 |
| 2009 | Miami | Hard | Nadal | 7-6(2) 7-6(4) |
| 2010 | Rome | Clay | Nadal | 6-4 6-1 |
| 2010 | Toronto | Hard | Nadal | 7-6(12) 6-3 |
| 2010 | Shanghai | Hard | Nadal | 6-4 6-4 |
| 2012 | Monte Carlo | Clay | Nadal | 7-5 6-4 |
| 2013 | Madrid | Clay | Nadal | 6-2 6-4 |
| 2013 | Roland Garros | Clay | Nadal | 6-2 6-3 6-1 |
| 2013 | Shanghai | Hard | Nadal | 7-6(10) 6-1 |
| 2013 | London Masters | Hard | Nadal | 7-6(5) 7-6(6) |
While Stanislas Wawrinka will play in his first Grand Slam final, with a win on Sunday, Rafael Nadal could equal Sampras’s 14 Grand Slam titles.
The Spaniard could also become the first player in the Open era (and the third overall after Aussie legends Rod Laver and Roy Emerson) to win each Grand Slam title at least twice.
Both players enter the final with great momentum. After struggling to overcome Kei Nishikori in the fourth round and Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals, Nadal beat arch rival Roger Federer in great fashion on Friday. Wawrinka beat three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals and will give it all to take the trophy home, but the stats speak clearly against Wawrinka:
– Nadal leads their head to head 12-0.
– Wawrinka is the seventh different opponent Nadal will face in a Grand Slam final. Only Federer (Wimbledon 2006 and 2007) and Djokovic (Wimbledon and US Open 2011, Australian Open 2012) beat him in the final.
– the last first time Grand Slam finalist to have won the title is Juan Martin Del Potro at the 2009 US Open. Both Tomas Berdych (Wimbledon 2010) and David Ferrer (Roland Garros 2014) failed to win a set in their final. Their opponent: Rafael Nadal.
Pete Sampras will present the trophy to the winner on Sunday, 20 years after the first of his two Australian victories (1994, 1997). Who do you think will win?
Who will be the 2014 Australian Open champion?
- Rafael Nadal (33%, 92 Votes)
- Novak Djokovic (28%, 80 Votes)
- Roger Federer (27%, 76 Votes)
- Juan Martin Del Potro (4%, 11 Votes)
- Andy Murray (4%, 10 Votes)
- Stanislas Wawrinka (2%, 5 Votes)
- Tomas Berdych (1%, 3 Votes)
- Other (1%, 3 Votes)
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (1%, 2 Votes)
- Richard Gasquet (0%, 1 Votes)
- David Ferrer (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 283
Loading ...Photo credit: Tennis Australia
Li Na defeats Flavia Pennetta 6-2 6-2
A routine win for the two time Australian Open finalist who appears now as the big favorite for the title along with defending champion Victoria Azarenka.
Li Na saved a match point in her third round match against Lucie Safarova and now there seems to be no stopping her.
Eugenie Bouchard defeats Ana Ivanovic 5-7 7-5 6-2
Bittersweet tournament for Ana Ivanovic who follows a terrific win over Serena Williams with a loss to 19 yr old Eugenie Bouchard.
Bouchard, who entered the match as the underdog, showed she could face the pressure and will play Li Na in the semifinals. In their only previous meeting, the Chinese beat the Canadian in straight sets.
Tomas Berdych defeats David Ferrer 6-1 6-4 2-6 6-4
Win his win over Ferrer, Tomas Berdych is now part of a small group of champions to have made semifinal appearances at all four Grand Slam tournaments. Surprisingly it was also his first victory ever on Rod Laver arena.
After winning the first two sets quite easily, Berdych lost his focus, allowing the Spaniard to come back in the match. He took advantage of Ferrer‘s many errors in the fourth set to advance to the semifinals.
Stanislas Wawrinka defeats Novak Djokovic 2-6 6-4 6-2 3-6 9-7
The match of the tournament so far. For the third consecutive Grand Slam meeting, Stan Wawrinka and three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic played five sets. And this time, after 14 loses in a row to the Serbian, the Swiss prevailed.
Djokovic suffered his first loss since the US Open final, when he was beaten by Rafael Nadal. He had gone on to win 28 matches in a row, lifting trophies in Beijing, Shanghai, Paris and London.
