Nadal, the 2009 champion, was also typically gracious after losing his third Melbourne final and coming up short in his bid for a 15th grand slam title. Federer had two break points in the next game but Nadal fought them off and then broke again as his rival struggled for accuracy under the Spaniard's onslaught. Four big forehands gave the Swiss a break back but Nadal held firm to serve out the set and Federer needed three aces to save three break points at the start of the third. Nadal again closed out the set and Federer took a medical timeout before the start of the decider, returning to court only to give up his first service game. Even if I played great in the break points, I was suffering a lot," said Nadal.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 29, 2017 18:41 UTC