Sunday, February 1, 2009

Australian Open 2009 - Dawn of A New Era of 2 Champions!


The curtains finally closed on the stage of Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park for the first Grand Slam of the New Year aka The Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific - Australian Open 2009. It was my first time chasing after any tennis competition. Maybe it is cos I just returned from backpacking in Australia?!! haha. Another possible reason is cos I am waiting (or hoping?!) to see if Roger Federer can have a good start to this year and regain his World No 1 title?


What a final! One can only experience it by watching it Live! Current World No 1, Rafael Nadal, persevered to win in a 5 set thriller: 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 over World No 2, Roger Federer (who was World No 1 till August 2008) in 4 hrs and 23 mins. And just one day plus ago, he was being pushed by an on form countryman, Fernando Verdasco (seeded 14th) till the wee hours! This man is really made of steel (just look at his bulging muscles)! On a separate note, gosh! tennis is a tiring game!


As you can deduce from above, I am for Federer but as I continued to watch, I could not help but feel worried for him as he was being stretched by Nadal. After all, before this match, he was 6-12 against Nadal! Then these thoughts came to my mind: to be a real champion or regain his World No 1, he must overcome all odds. Even his nemesis -Rafael Nadal. Otherwise, he does not deserved the title.


The match could go either way eventually. Federer entertained with his brillant skills while Nadal, not wanting to be left behind, countered with his speed, strength and accuracy. But Nadal was the more consistent one with Federer making a lot of unnecessary errors. I applaused when Nadal won as he fought hard with determination. The rest of the tennis players (the likes of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray) still have quite some way to go to catch up with them. In the past, the tennis era belonged to Federer but now, it belongs to Federer AND Nadal (with Nadal having the upper hand now). May the best man win! Cheers!

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