MELBOURNE, Australia — Only the trophy and the tears were missing from this latest Grand Slam installment of Rafa vs. Roger.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were on opposite sides of the net Thursday, meeting in the semifinals of the Australian Open.

And Nadal was the winner again — for the eighth time in their 10 Grand Slam matchups.

For the complete article, please pick up a copy of The Daily Reflector or purchase today’s electronic edition at http://www.reflector.com/circ-store. Current home delivery and electronic edition subscribers may log in to access this article at no charge. To become a subscriber, please click here or contact Customer Service at (252) 329-9505.