Australian Open round-up

the first tennis Grand Slam of the year. i like it bcoz it is usually here tt e pace for e year is set. tennis takes a break in e months after the Flushing Meadows in e US Grand Slam, so players are refreshed for e new season. n it is always here tt we're reminded of e legendary Rod Laver. n i simply like how bright this Grand Slam is, as it takes place in e dead heat of e Australian summer.

e only down point of this edition is tt e great Roger Federer, for all e fairytales we'd like to see, didnt win.

this year sees Rebound Ace replaced by Plexicushion. apparently, it's to combat e Australian heat, which makes Rebound Ace surfaces become sticky. Plexicushion offers more consistency under different conditions. but criticism is in e fact tt e new surface is v similar to e US Open's DecoTurf. e four Grand Slams are such bcoz they differ in surfaces n give players a larger challenge to complete The Grand Slam.

n boy was it a good tournament. tennis often sees upsets, n it's what makes e sport attractive. this time, there were more than enough of those.

as usual, e peerless Roger Federer and his nemesis Rafael Nadal were favourites. e world number one was being watched as he wasnt as prepared as e rest of e field. he was injured in e preparations n lead-up, n was playin in his first tournament of 2008. but critics know Federer loves e big occasions n would never write him off. as expected, he started slow n was pushed to e brink in e early stages, but he got stronger w each match. when e first real test came in James Blake, Federer responded wonderfully n destroyed e world number 12. Nadal, as expected, breezed thru to e semis. like how a commentator once astutely remarked, Nadal has a beastly determination n bags of skill to match. to beat him, u can only do so thru winners, bcoz he always try to giv u another ball to play.

e fairytale this time was a young Frenchman named Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. before this tournament ive seen him play. a competent lad, but rather ordinary. his weak links were his awkward build, movement around court, n technically not so consistent.

this unseeded player was expected to be brushed aside by e in-form Andy Murray. instead Tsonga turned in a brilliant display n took e match.

he was not done. he juz got better from tt point on n if "brilliant" was used to describe his last performance, then adjectives are fast runnin out. Tsonga came up against another in-form player, fellow Frenchman n backhand specialist Richard Gasquet. e match started off like a lesson in tennis for Tsonga from Gasquet, n we thot e end is oredi here for e young lad. but it juz got more even as time went by n servin even better tennis, Tsonga took e quarter-final n got himself a match in Nadal.

expectedly, e odds were heavily in e Spaniard's favor. no one gave Tsonga a chance. for all his youth, Nadal is equally young. in terms of talent, e world knows what Nadal can do. but it was a bad day for him. it was like a match-up planned by e gods. all possible strands of Nadal's weaknesses were met by all e possible strengths of Tsonga. it was like Tsonga was sent from above to specifically defeat this Spanish matador. e usual roles in Nadal's matches were reversed. Tsonga always gave Nadal another ball to play, n whatever Nadal threw at him, he had an answer. e powerful Spaniard was ran ragged n made a wimp by e awkward opponent. e crowds were exhilarated, although stunned tt this man, instead of e other, was in the final.

in e other pool, e rising star Novak Djokovic was tryin to move out of e shadows of e top two seeds. a key headline was given to him durin e tournament, n it signalled his arrival. e media related how a smooth n simple Djokovic totally dominated an exasperated former world number one n local favourite Lleyton Hewitt. Hewitt, famous for his grit, was runnin in circles against a young man who simply played his own game.

Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko are juz some of e players in e world top 10 who struggle to ever beat Federer. watchers expected e same this time. Federer is in full swing, Australia is his traditional playground, n for all e skills tt e Serb has Federer can do better. unfortunate for e Swiss, Djokovic had a masterplan n he executed it perfectly.

u see, for havin e tag of e "most complete tennis player ever", Federer is not without weaknesses; they're juz too few n usually his brilliance would allow u no time to breathe.

these are e three, n maybe only, weaknesses of e great Swiss:
1. he starts matches slow, n if playin a top player, usually he would drop e first set. it is in e later sets when he would turn it on n opponents are blitzed.
2. his unbelievable game anticipation, strong consistent technical skills, n awesome court speed often conceals this characteristic of his. he is seldom tested n pushed to reveal his grit, hence tt works against him. he is not a player used to diggin deep. often when Federer loses, he does so meekly. of course, fans will always argue tt he is so brilliant tt he does not even need to dig deep.
3. if this is even a weakness at all, as it is so minute, Federer is weakest oncourt at e corner forehand. his forehand is excellent, no doubt, but it's e position he takes up oncourt n his habits tt make tt shot his Achilles Heel. when an opponent manages (extremely difficult in e first place) to hit a shot into tt zone, Federer usually nets it.

Djokovic sent Federer crashin out of a Grand Slam semi-final, the Swiss' first in eleven, by capitalisin on all e three points mentioned. n when ur of a standard of his, n also diverse in abilities (read: Nadal), victory's urs. Djokovic kept his composure n consistency thruout e match, without rushin anythin. at e same time, he piled on e pressure n stepped on e accelerator when necessary, allowin Federer no breathin space. thus e Swiss cld not up his game in e later stages. Djokovic knows technically he's no match of Federer, n only w determination n grit can he pull closer to e great man opposite. n he did it. lastly, Djokovic was astute n dogged, n played into e corner forehand zone time n time again, earnin himself many points thru Federer's unforced errors.

e final was an excitin prospect. not for skill levels, as spectators would mostly prefer at least havin Federer or Nadal. but for a new face winnin a Grand Slam. in one camp were e dreamers, hopin for a fairytale; in e other were those wishin e talented Djokovic, bound to go further in e future than Tsonga, would begin his journey of glory. to me, e Serb is borin n has no special weapons, juz good in every department, so i rooted for a fairytale endin. even e commentators seemed to be so. but alas, for all e magic Tsonga still managed to work n thrill us, Djokovic was too consistent.