Stanislav Wawrinka has won his first grand slam title with a convincing 4 set win over Rafa Nadal at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

The Swiss number 8 seed took a two set lead, winning the opening exchanges by a score of 6-3 and 6-2.

Wawrinka was 1 set and a break up when Nadal left the court to receive treatment for a back injury. The Spaniard left while Warinka argued with the umpire over his opponent leaving the court. Nadal returned looking immobile and in considerable discomfort. Nadal’s break for attention was not to prove a remedy for Wawrinka’s early dominance and the second set went the same way as the first, with Wawrinka winning 6-2.

Nadal received more treatment before the start of the third set and battled back, dragging himself back into the match. For a few games Nadal had looked a broken man, and it seemed that Wawrinka would walk to the championship, past his injured opponent. Nadal took the third set 6-3 and there were hints that the occasion, and perhaps an alteration to his game plan in the face of an injured opponent, might be manipulating the clinical edge from Wawrinka’s game.

Warinka broke Nadal’s serve in the sixth game of the fourth set, making it 4-2. From there the pair exchanged breaks of serve, leaving Wawrinka to serve for the championship. Nadal offered little resistance in the final game and Wawrinka sealed his first slam title with an emphatic final game, winning to love.