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Australian Open 2012: Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal in longest Grand Slam singles final ever Novak Djokovic becomes the fifth man since the Open Era began in 1968 to win three straight Grand Slam finals. On the women’s side, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus beat Maria Sharapova to take over the top ranking, all in her first Grand Slam final.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia kisses the trophy during the awards ceremony after defeating Rafael Nadal.
Rick Rycroft
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Associated Press
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses after his victory.
WILLIAM WEST
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts after winning his third straight Grand Slam final.
NICOLAS ASFOURI
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Rafael Nadal speaks at the award ceremony after losing to Novak Djokovic for the seventh time in a final since March.
PAUL CROCK
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Both Novak Djokovic, right, and Rafael Nadal were exhausted at the awards ceremony after playing for 5 hours 53 minutes.
PAUL CROCK
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Jan. 28, 2012
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus holds her trophy after winning the singles final against Maria Sharapova of Russia on the 13th day of the Australian Open.
William West
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Jan. 28, 2012
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus takes the winner's trophy after her victory over Maria Sharapova of Russia on Day 13 at the Australian Open.
Nicolas Asfouri
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Jan. 28, 2012
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, right, shakes hands with Maria Sharapova of Russia after their singles final. Azarenka defeated Sharapova, 6-3, 6-0.
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Jan. 28, 2012
Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after winning a point during his semifinal match against Andy Murray. Djokovic, the defending champion and No. 1 player in the world, rallied to win the match, 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 6-1, 7-5.
Paul Crock
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Jan. 27, 2012
Andy Murray of Britain smashes a forehand return during his singles semifinal against Novak Djokovic. Murray couldn't hold his lead to topple the defending champion.
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Jan. 27, 2012
Novak Djokovic goes full extension for a forehand during his semifinal match with Andy Murray.
William West
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Jan. 27, 2012
Fans cheer for top-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic during his semifinal.
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Reuters
Jan. 27, 2012
Andy Murray of Britain during his semifinal singles match against Novak Djokovic. Murray reached the Australian Open final in 2010 and 2011.
William West
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Jan. 27, 2012
Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates his victory by collapsing on the court. Djokovic's fitness will be key when he faces the always-physical Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final.
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Jan. 27, 2012
Novak Djokovic, right, embraces Andy Murray after their five-set semifinal match.
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Jan. 28. 2012
Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after defeating Andy Murray to reach his third straight Grand Slam final.
Andrew Brownbill
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AP
Jan. 26, 2012
Rafael Nadal of Spain connects with a backhand during his singles semifinal against Roger Federer. After losing the first set, Nadal rallied to win the match, 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4.
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Jan. 26, 2012
Roger Federer of Switzerland plays a forehand in his semifinal match against Rafael Nadal. Federer saw his streak of 24 consecutive matches won come to an end against his longtime rival.
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Jan. 26, 2012
Rafael Nadal drops to his knees after beating Roger Federer, 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4, to advance to the Australian Open final.
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Jan. 26, 2012
Maria Sharapova of Russia reaches for a backhand during her singles semifinal match against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. Sharapova won the match, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
Clive Brunskill
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Jan. 26, 2012
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus hits a return against Kim Clijsters of Belgium in their singles semifinal match. Azarenka knocked off the defending champion, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, to reach her first Grand Slam final. Azarenka will face Maria Sharapova.
Paul Crock
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Jan. 26, 2012
Rafael Nadal of Spain is fired up after winning a point during his semifinal match against Roger Federer.
William West
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Jan. 26, 2012
Roger Federer of Switzerland wipes his face during his semifinal match against Rafael Nadal of Spain during Day 11 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.
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Jan. 26, 2012
Maria Sharapova goes airborne to hit a forehand return during her semifinal match against Petra Kvitova. Sharapova avenged her loss to Kvitova at Wimbledon.
Nicolas Asfouri
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Jan. 26, 2012
Friendly rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer walk off the court together after Nadal's semifinal triumph. Nadal now holds an 18-9 edge overall and an 8-2 advantage in Grand Slam meetings between the two most dominant men's players of the past decade.
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Jan. 26, 2012
Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic serves during her semifinal women's singles match against Maria Sharapova of Russia.
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Jan. 26, 2012
Maria Sharapova celebrates her semifinal victory over Petra Kvitova. The third-seeded Russian will face Victoria Azarenka in the final with the No. 1 world ranking on the line.
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Jan. 26, 2012
Kim Clijsters of Belgium plays a shot during her semifinal singles match against Victoria Azarenka. Clijsters, the defending champion, has said she plans to retire after the 2012 season.
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Jan. 26, 2012
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus checks her balancing ability during her semifinal match against Kim Clijsters.
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AP
Jan. 26, 2012
Victoria Azarenka celebrates after defeating Kim Clijsters to advance to her first Grand Slam final.
Rick Rycroft
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AP
Jan. 25, 2012
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic connects with a backhand return during his singles quarterfinal matchup with David Ferrer of Spain. Djokovic won the match in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6, 6-1, to advance to the semifinals.
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Jan. 25, 2012
David Ferrer of Spain reaches for a return against Novak Djokovic. Ferrer pushed the top seed through two sets but fell in straight sets.
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Jan. 256, 2012
Andy Murray of Britain serves in his quarterfinal match against Kei Nishikori of Japan. Murray cruised to a straight-sets win, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
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Jan. 25, 2012
Novak Djokovic hurts his hamstring during his quarterfinal win over David Ferrer.
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Reuters
Jan. 25, 2012
David Ferrer isn't able to overcome top-seeded Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals in Melbourne.
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Jan. 24, 2012
Americans Mike, left, and Bob Bryan are in sync during their quarterfinal doubles match against Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowsi of Poland. The Bryans moved one step closer to defending their tournament title with a 6-4, 4-7, 6-4 win.
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Jan. 25, 2012
Ekaterina Makarova of Russia reaches for a return during her quarterfinal match against Maria Sharapova. Makarova, who upset Serena Williams in the fourth round, could not repeat the feat against the fourth-seeded Sharapova.
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Jan. 25, 2012
Kei Nishikori of Japan serves to Andy Murray of Britain during their quarterfinal at the Australian Open.
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AP
Jan. 24, 2012
Roger Federer follows through on a forehand during his singles quarterfinal against Juan Martin del Potro. Federer cruised to a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 victory to set up a semifinal with rival Rafael Nadal.
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Jan. 24, 2012
Rafael Nadal powers through a backhand return during his singles quarterfinal against Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic. Nadal won the match in four sets, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3, to set up a semifinal matchup with Roger Federer.
Nicolas Asfouri
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Jan. 24, 2012
Kim Clijsters connects on a forehand in during her quarterfinal match against Caroline Wozniacki. Clijsters, the defending Australian Open champion, knocked off the top-seeded Wozniacki in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6.
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Jan. 24, 2012
Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark hits a backhand return during her quarterfinal matchup with Kim Clijsters. Wozniacki's 18-month run with the No. 1 ranking will end after the tournament.
Nicolas Asfouri
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Jan. 24, 2012
Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic hits forehand during his quarterfinal match against Rafael Nadal. Berdych won the first set but lost the match to the second-seeded Nadal.
William West
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Jan. 24, 2012
Rafael Nadal expresses his displeasure with a call during his quarterfinal victory over Tomas Berdych.
Vivek Prakash
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Jan. 24, 2012
Fans of Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic cheer on during his singles quarterfinals match against Rafael Nadal.
Darren Whiteside
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Jan. 24, 2012
Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina plays a shot between his legs during his quarterfinal singles match against Roger Federer. Del Potro lost the match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
Vivek Prakash
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Jan. 24, 2012
Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland lines up a backhand in her quarterfinal match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Azarenka won the match in three sets.
Clive Brunskill
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Victoria Azarenka celebrates her quarterfinal victory at the Australian Open. Azarenka will try to continue her best-ever result in Melbourne when she faces defending champion Kim Clijsters in the semifinals.
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Australian Lleyton Hewitt left it all on the court during a four-set loss to top-seeded Novak Djokovic in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Aaron Favila
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AP
Serena Williams was frustrated throughout her fourth-round loss to unseeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova.
William West
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David Ferrer of Spain hits a backhand during his fourth-round match against France's Richard Gasquet on Monday. Ferrer won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1.
Rick Rycroft
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AP
World No. 2 Rafael Nadal cools off with water during a break in his fourth-round match against Feliciano Lopez on Sunday in Melbourne.
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Raonic delivers a return to Hewitt during their third round match. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)
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Britain's Andy Murray falls over during his third round match against France's Michael Llordra. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
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Fans wearing tennis balls on their heads sit courtside at Rafael Nadal's second-round match against Slovakian Lukas Lacko.
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Third-ranked Roger Federer goes full extension for a forehand during his third-round singles match against Ivo Karlovic.
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American John Isner ran out of gas in his second five-set match in three days at the Australian Open. Isner, who outlasted David Nalbandian in a 99-minute fifth set on Wednesday, lost in five sets to Feliciano Lopez of Spain, 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-7(0), 6-1.
Nicolas Asfouri
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Li Na of China returns a ball to Australia's Olivia Rogowska during their second-round match at the Australian Open. Na advanced to the fourth round when her opponent, Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain, retired only three games into their third-round match.
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AP
Bernard Tomic of Australia celebrates winning the third set tie-breaker against Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine in their third-round men's singles match on Friday in Melbourne. Tomic won the match in five sets, 4-6, 7-6(0), 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-3.
Paul Crock
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Ukranian Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine receives physio treatment during a break in his third-round match against Australian Bernard Tomic.
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Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain screams in pain after injuring herself during her thid-round singles match against Li Na of China. Garrigues retired from the match trailing 0-3 in the first set.
Greg Wood
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Andy Roddick talks to a medical official during his match against Lleyton Hewitt on Thursday. Roddick withdrew from the match after three sets with a hamstring injury.
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Reuters
Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus shows off one of the four rackets he smashed out of frustration during during his second-round loss to Stanislas Wawrinka.
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Reuters
Rafael Nadal stretches for a backhand during his second-round win over Tommy Haas of Germany.
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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France dives for a shot in his first-round match against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan during day two of the 2012 Australian Open at Melbourne Park. Tsgona advanced in four sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.
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Musicians perform as photographs are projected onto the surface of the court ahead of the first round men's singles match between Roger Federer of Switzerland and Alexander Kudryavtsev of Russia on day one of the 2012 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne.
William West
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World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark serves in her second-round match against Anna Tatishvili of Georgia during day three of the 2012 Australian Open. Wozniacki advanced with a 6-1, 7-6 victory.
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