Nadal tops Verdasco for right to meet Federer

KATHMANDU, Jan 30: Top-seeded Rafael Nadal has beaten fellow left-handed Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the longest match in the history of the Australian Open, the Associated Press reported Friday. [break]



Nadal beat Verdasco 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (1), 6-4 Friday and will try to prevent Roger Federer from winning his record-equaling 14th Grand Slam when the two meet Sunday in the final.



The semifinal Friday lasted 5 hours, 14 minutes, breaking the previous mark of 5:11 in a match between Boris Becker and Omar Camporese of Italy in 1991.

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