Australian Open 2014: Rafael Nadal Loses Championship After Back Injury

Stanislas Wawrinka has claimed an upset by winning the 2014 Australian Open championship, defeating Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Wawrinka has had an impressiver run to the final, knocking out defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-final. Yet this win was a major upset - Wawrinka has never taken a set off the fiery Spaniard. However, Nadal appeared to have tweaked his back in the third set - despite taking out the third set, the Spaniard was clearly hampered for the rest of the match.

Stanislas Wawrinka's win will take the Swiss player to a career-high ranking of no. 3 in the world. It is his first Grand Slam championship win. Wawrinka, 28, reached the US Open semi-final last year, however, he showed impressive form last night with strong attacking play both from the baseline and rushing Nadal at the net. "Last year I had a crazy match (to Djokovic). I lost it. I was crying a lot after the match," Wawrinka said at the trophy ceremony. "Right now I don't know if I'm dreaming or not, but we'll see tomorrow morning."

Despite his clearly weakened form, Nadal refused to take anything away from Wawrinka's victory. "Stan, he really ... deserved to win that title. I'm happy for him. He's a great guy, a good friend of mine." Yet the Spaniard admitted to not being in his best from: "I felt a little bit (with the back) from warmup ... and then I started to feel worse," Nadal said. "I tried hard. The last thing I wanted to do was retirement. I hate to do that, especially in the final."