Wawrinka wins Australian Open
Stanislas Wawrinka has won his maiden grand slam title with a four-set victory over an injury-hit Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final.
The eighth seed overcame world number one Nadal, who twice required treatment on a back problem, 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3 in Melbourne.
Wawrinka - who had previously lost all 12 of his matches against Nadal without winning a set - showed no sign of nerves early in his first grand slam final, and was the better of the two players in the opener.
Nadal, chasing his second Australian Open crown and 14th major title overall, required medical attention early in the second set, and looked certain to retire with his movement severely restricted as he fell 2-0 down.
However, the Spaniard showed typical grit and fighting qualities to take the third set in remarkable fashion, but Wawrinka regrouped to seal victory in two hours and 21 minutes at Rod Laver Arena.
The win takes Wawrinka, who becomes the first man to beat both Novak Djokovic and Nadal in the same grand slam, up to number three in the ATP world rankings.
The Swiss bossed the top seed with some extraordinary hitting from the baseline and was on top even before Nadal struggled with his back.
Indeed, Wawrinka's dominance was shown in the fact he hit 53 winners to Nadal's 19 throughout the contest.
Wawrinka set his stall out by breaking early in the match before holding his nerve from 0-40 to serve it out.
He then carried that momentum forward into the second set, before Nadal took a medical timeout at 2-1 behind.
The Spaniard was clearly struggling upon his return, quickly slipping 4-1 down and it appeared he would have to give up.
But despite Wawrinka taking a two-set lead, Nadal battled back strongly in the third and moved 3-0 up as the Swiss looked to have lost his way.
Nadal duly won the third, but Wawrinka rediscovered his mojo in the fourth and took control by breaking in the sixth game with an incredible forehand winner from the baseline.
Nevertheless, Nadal once again showed his resilience and spirit to break to love in the next game, but Wawrinka regained his composure to break back and then serve out for the title.
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