I played my best match of the tournament: Rafael Nadal

Melbourne Rafael Nadal will play for history when he takes on Stanislas Wawrinka in the Australian Open final after once again getting the better of old foe Roger FedererThe two greatest players of their era and possibly ever met for a 33rd time and for the 23rd time it was Nadal who triumphedRafael Nadal celebrates after winning his semifinal encounter against Roger Federer at Melbourne Park PicGetty ImagesIt is a remarkably onesided record for two men at the top of the game and with Federer now 32 his chances of closing the gap appear to be reducing all the time He has not beaten Nadal at a Grand Slam since the 2007 Wimbledon final and was second best throughout in a 76 74 63 63 defeat on Rod Laver ArenaNadal has never lost a set to Wawrinka who will overtake Federer to become Swiss number one on Monday and should he continue that record he would become the first man in the Open era to win all the Grand Slams at least twiceThe 27yearold would move to 14 overall only three adrift of Federer and level with Pete Sampras who will present the trophy tomorrow and was among the crowd to witness Nadalrsquos masterclassldquoI played well tonightrdquo said the World No 1 ldquoI think I played probably my best match of the tournament So Irsquom very very happy for this great news Itrsquos a very special moment to have the chance to be in another finalrdquoThe first set was tight but it was Nadal who had the break points missing three before making his superiority count in the tiebreak Nadal finally broke serve in the sixth game of the second set and at no point did a Federer comeback look on the cardsNadal insisted his record against Federer was not a weapon saying ldquoI went on court knowing that itrsquos a really tough match and if I am not playing my best I will not have the chance to win So when I go on court I go with doubts But the doubts are goodrdquoDoubts about the outcome centred on Federerrsquos brilliant form in beating JoWilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray while Nadal was struggling with a blister on the palm of his left handThe Spaniard took a medical timeout after the first game of the second set to have it retaped but he said ldquoThe blister is good It looks better every day The problem is to cover that blister in the position where it isrdquoWalking off court a loser against Nadal was a familiar feeling for Federer who will drop to eighth in the rankings on Monday and he was frustrated he was not able to trouble the Spaniard more on serveFedererrsquos only break points came in the fourth game of the third set and although he did take one it was no more than a blip for NadalHe said ldquoI think Rafa played well Hersquos played me this way many times It was just the lack of opportunities I created for myself which put the pressure on me too frequently instead of maybe being able to do that the other way aroundldquoHe did a good job Overall he was more consistent He deserved to win tonight He was betterrdquo Missing out on an allSwiss final against Wawrinka was another blow for Federer but he will leave Australia at least knowing he is back in the Grand Slam mixCause for optimismLast season the chances of the 32yearold winning another major title appeared to have gone but with back problems seemingly behind him a new racquet and a new parttime coach in his boyhood hero Stefan Edberg Federer sees plenty of cause for optimismHe said ldquoI wish I could have won here and given an allSwiss final Thatrsquos something Irsquoll regret for a long time But I think this is a very good start to the season for me overall I still feel my best tennis is only ahead of me right nowrdquo