A Cracking Tournament, and Time For A New Favourite Player

I've just realized that I've been singing too many hosannas about Roger Federer the last couple of weeks, so I will not say anything complimentary about the man today in spite of having been witness to yet another scintillating performance by him in today's final against Gonzalez. Maybe I should only talk about Gonzalez. Fernando Gonzalez had a brilliant run to the final, beating the likes of Lleyton Hewitt (I'll get back to that tragedy later), James Blake, Rafael Nadal and Tommy Haas, all very convincingly, and one of them (Haas) with ridiculous ease. He played a very good match in the final too, but was consistently outplayed by his opponent. Alright, maybe he did make a lot more unforced errors than in his previous matches, but those were necessitated by the tremendous reputation and sheer shot-making ability of his adversary. By the time the third set had begun, Gonzalez had been totally taken apart mentally, and you truly had to feel sorry for a player who had worked so hard and had the ability to match that hard work. If Gonzalez had had to play any man other than the one he actually did, he would have won the match comfortably, but sadly for him, that was not to be. There! I went through an entire paragraph without a single plaudit about Federer. Isn't that a relief?

On a more serious note, this year's Australian Open was another thoroughly entertaining affair; tennis seems to be getting more competitive by the year. Third round clashes produced classics - the Safin-Roddick match was truly one to savor, and 3 of the top 4 seeds failed to make it to the semi-finals. Fernando Gonzalez was the story of the men's tournament, as was Marcos Baghdatis last year, but really, that was just because we've got so used to Federer regularly dismantling his opponents that it has become almost boring now. Nadal was a big disappointment, and seems to be on the decline after just two years in the top bracket of men's tennis. I suspect, though, that it's too early to begin writing him off just yet - he definitely has that 'fighting spirit' that I keep talking about, and the clay season is just about to start, so he may yet put together another stunning sequence of wins. Lleyton Hewitt was another big let-down, and frankly, I don't know how much longer I can put up with his lack of fitness, off-court problems and less-than-splendid form. I think it's time I chose a new favorite player, and Andrew Murray would be a very good candidate for that post, if his match against Roddick is anything to go by. He was definitely the better player for the good part of that match, and he also does have the honorable distinction of having beaten Roger Federer last year. For once, British enthusiasm about its young, emerging sporting hero does not seem misplaced or exaggerated.

Serena Williams's triumph in the women's section was astonishing for a lot of reasons - she is undoubtedly a great champion, and all those who've been doubting her abilities and mental strength (I can happily say that I wasn't one of those) should take a long, hard look at themselves, and perhaps die of shame. Maria Sharapova had a brilliant tournament until the final - clearly, she has all the makings of being a consistent champion, and hopefully, her modeling assignments won't derail that possibility too greatly. Nicole Vaidisova, Anna Chakvetadze and Lucie Safarova all firmly established their credentials too, and are only helping the new wave of Eastern European domination of women's tennis. America, however, had the last laugh this time round, and this was greatly helped by the fact that when Serena Williams is on song, there's not a single player on the women's tour who can defeat her.

So now it's time for the North American hard court season, followed by the extremely long clay one (you can almost see Nadal rubbing his hands in glee). Personally, I'm not too great a fan of clay court tennis, and I'm just hoping that Federer completes his career Grand Slam (and perhaps a calendar one too?) this year so I don't have to bother watching it next year. And I also hope that Murray breaks into the top ten in the rankings quickly. Just in case Hewitt adds another problem to his burgeoning list. Just in case.

Super Serena's Still Got It

I'd made up my mind that I wouldn't be writing another post on tennis until the the men's singles final was over and I could do a complete round-up of the entire tournament, but I can't resist putting in a few words tonight about Serena Williams's remarkable victory in the women's final. To say that she was the underdog coming into the tournament would be a huge understatement - she had been branded unfit, overweight, insufficiently motivated and a host of other uncomplimentary things by most people who'd been following her progress for the past one year. And yet, in true Serena style, she's managed to stun all her critics (and opponents) with some fierce tennis to add yet another Grand Slam title to an already-bulging collection. As I had said in my previous post about the Australian Open, a fighting spirit can take you places. And Serena Williams has just emerged as the most shining proof of that statement. We doff our hats to you, Serena - you certainly ARE the 'ultimate competitor'.

And while we're talking of doffing hats, I'm sure many would have been inclined to do that after watching the semi-final match, or mis-match, if you will, between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. But no amount of hat-doffing (I wonder why that phrase has stuck with us for so long - who even wears hats in this day and age?) would be sufficient praise for the jaw-dropping exhibition that Federer put up. Seriously, is this guy human? Some of the shots that he played, particularly in the second set, were so sensationally stunning that everyone, including the commentators, were left simply speechless, and for once, this is NOT an exaggeration. I mean, when Federer kept coming up with one preposterous winner after another, all Vijay Amritraj and Alan Wilkins (the two men doing the commentary on Star Sports) could do was shout 'Aaaaah!' or 'Oooooh!' or sometimes, 'Stop it, Roger!'. The best player ever to play tennis? I have no doubt about that, none at all.

Tomorrow's final is shaping up to be a cracker of a match, and that is solely because Fernando Gonzalez has played some brilliantly one-sided matches on his way to the final. I must admit that I've become a fan of his after watching his match against Rafael Nadal. He's got a blistering forehand, and as a bonus he has found a way to make it deadly accurate too. Honestly though, if Federer plays anything close to the way he played against Roddick, no Gonzalez or Nadal or even a Rod Laver in his prime, if I may say so, can possibly hope to derail the Federer Express (okay, I know that was a horrible cliche', but it's just soooo effective). Grand Slam No. 10, HERE COMES FEDERER!!!!

A Week of Few Surprises

A fighting spirit can take you places. It sure can. It gives you an immediate and potent advantage in everything that you do and helps you accomplish the impossible on many occasions. But is it enough ALL the time? Today, Fernando Gonzalez proved that sometimes, it is sheer naked ability that trumps over a refusal to lose. Lleyton Hewitt tried the best he could; he chased down impossible balls, and came up with stirring shots at the most desperate of times. But for every gritty salvo that he fired, Gonzalez answered with a breathtaking scorcher that even the super-fast Hewitt had no hope of reaching. Ever so often, Hewitt was simply helpless. Admittedly, Hewitt has not been in the greatest form and his off-court troubles haven't helped his cause much. He had huffed, panted and steeled his way to the third round after two unexpectedly difficult encounters against rank outsiders in his first two matches. His serve has been, quite frankly, pathetic all tournament, and this was no more painfully obvious than in the first two sets today. He managed to lift his level considerably in the third set, and would have completed another come-from-behind victory if he hadn't been playing against the tremendously inspired Gonzalez. It was just one of those days - days when everything seems to fall in place for one player. For Hewitt though, this is the end of yet another disappointing home Grand Slam run. Take heart, Hewitt, your incredible never-say-die attitude will help you fulfil your dream of winning in Australia. After all, it's only sometimes that players can have that perfect day and defeat your stupendous fortitude. Unless, of course, it's Roger Federer, who seems to have that kind of day everytime.

Federer has waltzed his way, almost indifferently, to the fourth round and and is just four strikes away from his tenth Grand Slam title. Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be another ridiculously easy campaign for the rampaging Swiss? The one player who I thought could have given Federer a bit of a tough time, Marat Safin, has been bounced out after an unfortunate third round match-up against a remarkably improved Andy Roddick. In the best match of the tournament so far, Roddick displayed all of his new-found toughness and together with Safin put on a brilliantly fast-paced display. Jimmy Connors, you're doing a great job. Safin was his usual touchy self, and kept breaking out into explosive tirades against everyone within his sight, including himself. In one guffaw-worthy moment, Safin, in reply to the referee's question whether he wanted to call for the trainer for his bruised finger, Safin grumpily pointed his bleeding finger at the referee and asked, "What do you want me to do?" Safin may be a lot of things - absurdly gifted, mentally unstable, heroic rebel. But he's also a real entertainer, as was proved further by his furious post-match comments about the decision of the officials to resume play after the rain delay. There's got to be something special about a man who can unflinchingly call the officials 'stupid', 'blind' and 'pathetic' in one fuming breath. Cheers, Marat!

There were few surprises in the other early round matches, with the exception of the early exit of Ivan Ljubicic, who many feel is hardly fourth-rank material anyway. The real fun will begin from tomorrow, kicking off with the Andy Roddick-Mario Ancic and Serena Williams-Jelena Jankovic matches. And that brings me to the women's arena, and I must say that this has been one of the most competitive draws in recent Grand Slam history. It's almost impossible to pick a winner at this stage, with Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo, Martina Hingis, Jelena Jankovic and Serena Williams all having established themselves as strong contenders. I suppose this has partly to do with the absence of Justine Henin-Hardenne, who seemingly is always the tournament favourite, and not without reason. Sania Mirza, of course, made a disappointingly early departure, and I dearly hope she does better next time. So a very competitive set of matches awaits us in the final rounds, though if I had to put my money on any player I'd go for either Clijsters or Williams.

There could hardly be a more striking contrast in the men's field - whichever way you choose to look at it, there seems to be one winner, and one winner alone. At the beginning of this post, I had talked about Hewitt's fighting spirit, and how it fell short of Gonzalez's stunningly awesome play today. Most champions have that spirit - Agassi never stepped on a court without it, and Serena Williams used it in combination with her extraordinary power to reach unchartered heights. But with Federer, it's difficult to say whether he has the fighting spirit to go with his frightening talent, because, well simply because he's been in difficult positions on so darned few occasions, at least in the Grand Slams. Can anyone even muster up the courage to try and make it difficult for him? God help the men's field!

Tennis Players Get Back To Business

Has Roger Federer forgotten how to lose? Or has he had a sinister operation done on him that gives him a ridiulously unbreakable spirit and enables him to find all those impossible angles and breathtaking shots even when he's down and out? I'm sorry, but his match against the unfortunate Radek Stepanek (whose engagement to the beautiful Martina Hingis, one would've thought, would've brought some luck into his life) in which he ground out an amazingly gruelling three-set victory has unnerved me a bit. Seriously, has he simply taken an Unbreakable Vow (Harry Potter fans would know what I'm talking aboutt) to never lose a match again? And this wasn't even an ATP match, for crying out loud. It was a lousy exhibition match that mattered for little more than a bit of media attention and the prestige of winning a trophy. Honestly, he's starting to scare tennis followers a little bit.

So the start of the tennis season this year hasn't been too happy for me so far. Nearly all of my favourite players have been losing like there's no tomorrow. Lleyton Hewitt has been besieged with a wide variety of problems ranging from injuries to bad form and to the embarrassing quitting of his coach. He pulled out from the Sydney International after a shock defeat to an unheralded player (I can't even remember his name) and is not looking too good for the Australian Open. Terrible, terrible. I wonder if he will ever be able to fulfil his dream of winning his home Grand Slam. I will be praying he does, of course. Martina Hingis has been continuing her habit of losing crunch matches, going out in the final of one tournament and in the first round of the next. Serena Williams's comeback was cut short, and now looks really unlikely to repeat her 2005 performance at the Open. Sharapova too has tasted defeat already this year, losing to Clijsters in the final at Hong Kong. So that makes four of my favourite players who haven't exactly been on smashing winning streaks this year. And to make matters more miserable, the players that I'm NOT too fond of have been enjoying themselves in the sun (quite literally - they say it gets really hot Down Under this time of the year). James Blake, Ivan Ljubicic, Jelena Jankovic - they've all been winning matches left, right and centre. Andy Murray and Sania Mirza doing well have been small consolation - neither won a tournament in spite of helping themselves to impressive giantkilling sprees.

Rafael Nadal lost in Chennai and is far from fully fit. In fact, he has had a start to the year pretty similar to that of Hewitt. Now if only Nadal's ill-fortune continues until the end of the French Open. Okay, I know I sounded like a disgusting sadist when I said that, but frankly, Nadal has no business thwarting Federer's ambitions of winning all the four Grand Slams, particularly since he doesn't play half as brilliantly as does Federer. It's pretty obvious that Federer is just taking a little more time than usual to sort Nadal out, not least because Nadal is a bleeding left-hander. The odds of Nadal's dominance over Federer continuing for any further stretch of time are probably as slim as those of Venus Williams ending the year ranked No. 1.

So another couple of days before the Australian Open begins. Federer is the runaway favourite in the men's event. Sometimes I actually think the other players on the tour shouldn't really bother to turn up at events that Federer plays. I suppose they just do it for the TV and the fans. The women's section is a lot more open, and with Henin-Hardenne pulling out Sharapova has emerged as the dubious favourite, based more on her high ranking than anything else. I say this because Kim Clijsters, in her last year on the tour (yeah, she's retiring from tennis at the age of 23) is looking lethal, and Amelie Maursesmo is always a major contender. Jankovic has been in the form of her life, and Hingis will be looking to add at least one big title to her impressive collection, most of which she achieved before her three-year hiatus. I, of course, will be praying fervently for Hewitt to come good, and I also hope Sania Mirza manages to make something more than a string of two or three wins out of her blistering forehand. I will NOT be praying for Federe to lose early, because that'd just be pathetic. But I do hope Hewitt doesn't run into him this year. Come on Federer, give him just one chance.