Semi-Final & Final related articles

Is It Sunday Yet?
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The head to head is 7-4 in Nadal’s favor, though the last time they played on a hard court, in Chennai a couple of years ago, Youzhny won love and 1. While Nadal was coming off an epic match with Carlos Moya the day before, there’s no question that Youzhny has troubled him at times in the past. He even eliminated Nadal in the quarters at Flushing Meadows four years ago and was up two sets on him at Wimbledon the following year, before Nadal completely turned the tables. Since then, Nadal has mostly had the upper hand.

Winner: Nadal

Will Federer and Nadal meet again?source 

No one knew it was the beginning of something special when the two first played each other in the round of 32 at the 2004 Sony Ericsson. But that's how life is, you know? Some moments you can see coming, but usually, they just sort of happen.

If the two do meet up in Flushing Meadows this weekend, ESPN analyst Brad Gilbert said it would be the most important tennis match of all time. The 24-year-old Nadal is not only going for the career Slam -- something Federer didn't accomplish until he was 28 -- but he is also looking to be the first man in 41 years to win three consecutive Slams. 

Rafael Nadal Advances to US Open Semis in Straight Sets 
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The 24-year-old Nadal is seeking his first U.S. Open title, which would make him the seventh man in history to capture all four Grand Slam tournaments. The winner of this year's titles at the French Open and Wimbledon, Nadal is also trying to join Rod Laver, Pete Sampras and Federer as the fourth man to win three consecutive majors in the Open Era.

"Right now," said Nadal, "this is the most important tournament for me."

In Adapting Game, Rafael Nadal Reaching New Levels of Greatness 
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At times, he's serving almost as big as Andy Roddick.

After the first round, I asked Nadal what he was doing. How had he hit it 130 mph?

"And wait, wait for the next one,'' he said. "I'm going for 135.''

He laughed. No way.

Guess what happened Tuesday night in the fourth round. He hit 135. Last year, he never broke 123 here.

Not only did Nadal's serve change, but even more amazing is something no one seems to have noticed: throughout the tournament, it has continued to get faster.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the Movies 
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It was clear from the outset that Rafael Nadal had the easy way to the Finals. The results yesterday merely confirmed that no decent challenger has stood in his way from the beginning. They also confirmed that Nadal will be very hard to beat.

It is easy to see why New Yorkers can take to Nadal. He is a fierce competitor whose demeanor often reminds one of a combination of two of the most famous taxi driver scenes in movies, both filmed in New York. He is like Ratso confronting the taxi driver in the film Midnight Cowboy, who says "Hey, I'm walkin' here!" And Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver, whose entire demeanor seemed ready to explode in some weird, dangerous manner during the summer of the New York garbage strike and record hot temperatures.