It was an Australian Open men’s singles final for the ages.
The only shame was there had to be a loser after five roller coaster sets.
Swiss evergreen Roger Federer wrapped up his 18th grand slam title with a 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3 win over long time Spanish rival Rafael Nadal at Rod Laver Arena in three hours and 38 minutes.
Here is a set by set rundown of how the epic final unfolded …
First set: Federer 6-4
It was all Federer in the first set.
The 17th seed was unstoppable on serve, getting 63% of his first serves in and his attacking game plan was coming off.
Federer’s work all around the court was superior.
After both players had been dominant on their serve, Federer gained the break he desired and deserved in the seventh game and it went some way to him taking out the first set.
Second set: Nadal 6-3
Nadal came out breathing fire in the second set.
The ninth seed from Spain had a confident hold and then a break, but had to brush off two break point opportunities to get a difficult hold for a 3-0 lead.
It was a huge period for Nadal – one that might have created doubts in the mind of Federer, who has a negative head-to-head record with Nadal over the journey.
The unforced errors began to mount for Federer as Nadal dragged him to all sections of the court.
It led to a double break for Nadal.
After missing a break point opportunity earlier in the set, Federer got a break back, then achieved a hold, which was huge for his psyche after a tough opening to the set.
But Nadal eventually closed out to level up the match at one set apiece.
Third set: Federer 6-1
The back and forth nature of the match continued in the third set.
Federer, still in a sound frame of mind despite dropping the second set, went up a break and then held a game to love to take a 3-0 lead and shift the momentum back in his favour.
It was still all-out attack for Federer.
He produced some of the most exquisite shots seen in the tournament, both from the baseline and like a raging bull at the net.
Nadal took nearly 10 minutes to hold a serve, which would be the only game he won for the set.
No such trouble for Federer though, who raced through another game to love in just 85 seconds.
A third break later and Federer turned it into a third set blitz and a two sets to one lead.
Fourth set: Nadal 6-3
Nadal landed the first significant blow of the fourth set, breaking Federer in the fourth game and taking a 3-1 lead in the set.
It did not jolt Federer’s confidence, who continued his attacking brand of tennis, racking up the lion’s share of winners, but it also resulted in a high unforced error count, which aided Nadal’s bid to take out the fourth set.
Nadal remained in command for most of the set and sent the match to a fifth set – the outcome every single one of the 24,798 that attended Melbourne Park wanted.
To add to the suspense, Federer took a medical time out in between the fourth and fifth sets.
Fifth set: Federer 6-3
When Federer returned to the court, the crowd cranked up the volume, sensing history was on the verge of happening.
It was Nadal who settled into the set better, breaking in the first game.
Federer counter-punched, getting a massive three break point opportunities the next game, but Nadal still managed an improbable hold for a 2-0 lead.
Once again, Federer was getting the right quadricep worked on in between games, leading you to ask if his body will hold up for the remainder of the match.
The next game, Federer got himself a break point opportunity. Quite simply, the champion doesn’t know when he’s down.
But Nadal plays like a man possessed, hitting back to get the toughest of holds for a 3-1 advantage.
Federer then found a way to get the hold in the next game.
Significantly, the physio made his way to Federer once again between games, but this time Federer declined treatment.
At 3-2, Federer had a break point chance, but Nadal said no way the first time, then Federer got a second chance and said yes way and we were back to 3-3.
Almost out of the blue, Federer took the match by the scruff of the neck with a service game to love, taking a 4-3 lead.
Incredibly, Federer has three break points, one given on a double fault, but Nadal fought back to take the game to deuce as the tension buillt around Rod Laver Arena.
A stunning 26-shot rally gave Federer yet another break point, but the broken record continued as he was denied once again.
At break point number five though, Federer finally takes advantage to go up 5-3 in the set, giving him the chance to serve for the match.
The pressure tells on Federer, going 0-30 with the finish line in sight.
Nadal somehow creates two break point chances, the first was denied by an ace, the next taken away by a huge Federer forehand.
Federer gets a championship point after three hours and 35 minutes.
In dramatic circumstances, he has to challenge a second serve to get a replay of the point and hawk eye was on his side.
Federer hits the replay button, but loses the point, as Nadal takes it back to deuce.
But Federer then delivers his 20th ace for a second championship point.
With one hand on the trophy, Federer unleashes a whippy forehand just clipped the line.
It was so close that Nadal challenged the call, but hawk eye was again on Federer’s side, confirming an 18th grand slam title for the great one.
Federer burst into tears after winning his fifth Australian Open and first grand slam since 2012.
It will go down as a special night in the history of sport in Melbourne and an unforgettable night in the career of Federer.
