This was published 12 years ago
Fairer Play: sport's great moments
Lionheart Nadal
Indeed, actions speak loudest when it comes to sport. A loss in the final of the Australian Open will still be raw for Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal, but he will one day look back at the match with overwhelming pride.
Australia's pride
It's often said that the true test of a champion is not when he is winning, but how he reacts to adversity. AFL superstar Adam Goodes is one of life's great examples. For someone who has achieved beyond his wildest dreams on a football field, Goodes freely admitted last month that his proudest moment came when he was named Australian of the Year.
Australia's pride
The Sydney Swan, who has won two Brownlow Medals and two Premierships, was honoured for his leadership and advocacy in the fight against racism, after a year that infamously saw him vilified by a teenage girl. He made the incident a line in the sand for the entire nation, cementing his stature as a role model for all Australians.
Lionheart Nadal
Nadal was almost felled by injury in the clash against Switzerland's Stanislas Warinka, but on, and on, and on he battled. When Wawrinka finally put Nadal out of his pain, the two embraced at the net in a moment that will be forever remembered.
Lionheart Nadal
As former world heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey once said, “a champion is someone who gets up when he can’t". Wawrinka won the match in four sets. Nadal won the hearts of millions.
Pocket rocket
Likewise, the Australian Open women's final also produced a champion who has faced more than her fair share of challenges. Li is seen as somewhat of a rebel in China, where she was selected by government coaches at the age of nine to train in the state program, but left to hone her own technique.
Pocket rocket
Whether it was on purpose or not, Li did not thank her motherland during her victory speech, prompting many to celebrate her latest triumph as someone who has earned success on their own terms.
Back with a vengeance
In terms of sporting comebacks, few compare to the recent one accomplished by Australia's cricketers. Branded one of the worst teams ever to tour England when they were thumped in the first of back-to-back Ashes series, this iron-willed side produced an astonishing turnaround.
Back with a vengeance
Led by coach Darren Lehmann (L) and skipper Michael Clarke, the Aussies pounded England into submission, winning back the Ashes in just 15 days on home soil before completing an historic 5-0 Test whitewash. Oh how sweet it must have tasted for 'Boof and Clarkey' on this night at the SCG after they ended the series.
Back with a vengeance
Speed demon Mitchell Johnson had more reason than most to savour the moment. Tormented by the Barmy Army for his former erratic bowling, Johnson's rebirth was the story of the Ashes. The tearaway quick spread fear among his enemy en route to reinventing himself as one of the world's best bowlers.View more galleries
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