Defending champion Roger Federer swept to his 10th Grand Slam title with a commanding straight-sets victory over Chile's Fernando Gonzalez in the final of the Australian Open yesterday.
The peerless Swiss world No. 1 fought off two set points in the opening set and went on to secure his third Australian title with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-4 win over the Chilean 10th seed.
Federer became only the fourth man to win a Grand Slam title without dropping a set, the last being Sweden's Bjorn Borg at the 1980 French Open.
Gonzalez, who went into the final in unbelievable form after blowing away 2005 finalist Lleyton Hewitt, fifth seed US player James Blake, world No. 2 Rafael Nadal and triple Australian semi-finalist Tommy Haas, was poised to take the opening set with two set points.
But the champion Swiss rose to the challenge and fought off the threat with brinkmanship tennis.
He put Gonzalez's backhand under unrelenting pressure after winning the 63-minute opening set struggle and went on for his 10th straight win over the Chilean.
Gonzalez, with the reputation of one of the heaviest forehands in men's tennis, was steadily taken apart by the clinical top seed.
He got the capacity crowd roaring when he broke Federer's service in the ninth game and raised two set points on his next service.
Federer was in danger of dropping a set for the first time in 11 matches, but broke back to 5-5.
Federer had four separate set points of his own on Gonzalez' serve in the 12th game before the Chilean finally held to take the set to a tiebreaker.
The world No. 1 won the tiebreaker, racing to a 6-2 lead and claimed the opening set with a forehand winner.
He then took charge in the second set with a service break in the seventh game and had little difficulty on serve to hold three set points and take a two-love lead with an ace.
Federer got his decisive breakthrough in the seventh game, taking the break on his fourth break point at the net by putting away a volley.
He served out for the championship in the 10th game and claimed match point with a backhand winner.
Mixed Doubles
Daniel Nestor of Canada and Russia's Elena Likhovtseva lifted their first Australian Open title yesterday, beating Belarus pair Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka in the mixed doubles final.
The unseeded Nestor and Likhovtseva won 6-4, 6-4 to avenge a loss in last year's finals.
It was a double disappointment for Mirnyi who, teamed with Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman, lost the men's doubles final on Saturday to US twins Bob and Mike Bryan.
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