Sometimes it seems that Roger Federer was put on this earth not so much to blow away the all-time Grand Slam singles title record than to make his all-time rival look good. Federer did it again tonight at the Australian Open, losing to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

This match appeared to give Federer a precious opportunity to fend off critics who were continually harping on Nadal's (now) 18-9 lead in their rivalry, particularly the Grand Slam component, which is now 8-2 for Nadal. But, as Federer fans might have said, this was not clay. And Federer embarked on his quest Down Under without having lost a match since the semifinals of the U.S. Open last September. In their last meeting, Nadal managed to collect just three games in a 6-3, 6-0 beatdown at the ATP World Tour Finals.

But this was still Nadal, and for Federer that is an enormous problem.

The pattern in this rivalry has settled into a painful one for Federer and his minions. Nadal seems to perform his due diligence, lurking and somehow knowing that when push comes to shove, Federer won't be able to sustain the kind of brilliance that can make him look so dangerous. Is this a mental thing? A tactical or strategic thing? Probably a little bit of all three. The salient fact here is that Federer repeatedly found himself in the driver's seat but always slid across the bench and allowed Nadal to take over the wheel.