Missing some of his best shots in the final, Nadal delivered numerous errors to quicky fall behind 0-6 after
set one. In the second set Nadal lost his first three service games to fall behind 1-4. Youzhny then rattled off a batch of
winners to claim his fourth career singles title.
Though clearly tired from his lengthy semifinal, Nadal acknowledged the sterling effort from Youzhny.
"Mikhail played unbelievable
tennis and deserved to win. I will now go to Melbourne and practice for a week and hopefully I will be at my best at the
(Australian) Open.
Youzhny who dropped only one set the whole week in the second round, moved to 4-6 head to head versus Nadal and aspired to
build on his 5-0 start for the year.
"I improved with every match in this tournament," he said, "and I hope I continue the same way at the Australian Open."
In 2007 Youzhny lost in the third round at the Australian Open to world number one Roger Federer of Switzerland 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(7-5).