Nadal defeated Federer in five sets to earn his first hard court Grand Slam singles title,
[48] making him the first Spaniard in history to win the Australian Open and the fourth male tennis player—after
Jimmy Connors,
Mats Wilander, and
Andre Agassi—to win Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces (he would be followed by a fifth, Roger Federer, after Federer's win in the
2009 French Open). This win also made Nadal
the first male tennis player to hold three Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces at the same time.
[49]