The final match of the Australian Open was a five-setter between #1 Rafael Nadal and #2 Roger Federer, but the match of the tournament was two days earlier when Nadal beat fellow Spanish lefthander Fernando Verdasco 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (1), 6-4. The battle royale lasted five hours and fourteen minutes, the longest tennis match ever played at the Australian Open.
Before watching that match, I had never been much of a Nadal fan. He does not play a particularly exciting brand of tennis. He tracks down balls about as well as anyone, but the rest of his game is fairly unspectacular. He is just a very well-rounded player with minim....