Federer Grows His Record Collection

SW19 has been home to a slew of magnificent moments over the last few weeks and in no disappointment culminated to the most wondrous 4 hours of 2009's Wimbledon during the gentlemen's championship match. Despite the mounds of youngsters on tour, a few old timers starred on Sunday: Roger Federer, who has dazzled, if not spoiled, us over the fortnight, and Andy Roddick, the sole American man to grace the Wimbledon final since legendary Pete Sampras.

Roger, with classy wins over Robin Soderling, Ivo Karlovic and Tommy Haas, was in perfect form to take on the hard-hitting, big-serving Statesman. From the onset, neither was showing much venerability but it was only a matter of time before Federer would break the Roddick serve and rush off with the trophy. Little did we know that Andy really didn't have anything else to do or anywhere else to go and was ready to stay a while. Holding his own service games like the pro that he is, Andy was able to claw out a break of his own to grab the first set 7-5.

Still, no worries. Roddick took the first set from Fed in their 2004 meeting but was still unable to capture the title. The second set, though, turned out to be just as close as the first, both taking care their serves with ease and turning to a tiebreak to move on. Immediately, Andy found Fed flat footed and with unreturnable body serves & his faithful backhand flew off to a 6-2 lead. The end seemed all too near for Federer. He did get one break back with his signature backhand flick crosscourt to the open lawn to approach his own service points with resurgent energy. A couple of aces drew Roddick to again claim the set for himself but Roger was able to get his own racket on the bullets to create a complete reversal. Federer drew an error to level the match.

Roddick dusted himself down as the third set was almost a duplicate of the second with another tiebreak looming. This time, it was Federer who ran off to a 5-2 lead and unlike his opponent, did not let the opportunity drift, closing it out 7-5. The Swiss maestro was just one set away from re-writing the history books.

Andy was long was finished though and broke for a 3-1 lead in the fourth set. He recovered from love-30 when serving for the set at 5-3 to continue a three-year stretch of 5-set final matches. And it was a marathon. The 5th set was the longest in men's Grand Slam final history with the American forever trailing. While both faced some tension, each was able to up his ace count in the route of erasing danger -- almost a tribute to Pistol Pete who had traveled half the globe to witness such a spectacle.

At 7-all in the 5th, we were reminded of last year's match at which point Roger was finally broken. He held this time, as did Andy. 8-all, we play on. A few love and 15 games later, 11-all... we play on. Finally in the 30th game of the set, 14-15, Roddick faced the first break point which was also a championship point. With this point Federer was on the verge of sitting alone atop of the sport of tennis with 15 Grand Slam titles while regaining his world #1 ranking. Merely two shots after the serve, it was all over. Roger Federer, with this lone break of Andy Roddick's serve, had made history exactly where history was meant to be made. On Centre Court. Wimbledon.

Anything you can do...

If all you were looking for was a match of stats, 22rd seed Ivo Karlovic and 9th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga put on quite the pleasing show, particulary in the serving department. This was the type of match, frustratingly to both opponents, where 15-30 served as an opening, a look at a second serve was precious and a successful winner came off a 3-shot rally.

The first set was comprised of bullets fired from both service lines. It wasn't until 5-all with Karlovic serving that Tsonga saw an elusive love-30 opportunity. Though, in classic Ivo-style, the Croat threw in 4 consectuve aces, numbers 11-14, to hold. Tsonga held easily, serving up a few aces of his own, to push a first set tiebreak where the two traded aces and unreturnable serves before Karlovic earned a minibreak, drawing Tsonga to hit a forehand just milimeters out. They stayed on serve for a 7-5 win to Ivo.

JW, clearly disheartened, was able to protect his serve again through the second set and this time come out the victor in another 7-5 tiebreak. On to the third, not much changed until the latest game. Tsonga serving at 5-6 faced a break point and with a second serve Karlovic was able to volley his was to a two sets to one lead.

The fourth set seemed to just fly by as the Frenchman lost only one point on his serve while Ivo just better him. They might as well have met in the centre and agreed to advance straight to the tiebreak, which saw 3 total minibreaks... one more for the Croat who will meet Fernando Verdasco in the round of 16. Undoubtedly Karlovic will look to let his service coast through the match and cement his title as the King of Aces.

Fire Power

This year's Champions at Wimbledon have not been without drama and excitement but the first week's most enticing match came from a few very unusual suspects. Both at 29, born and raised on clay, 10th seed Fernando Gonzalez and former world #1 Juan Carlos Ferrero fought for a spot in the final 16 this Saturday. Gonzo, with his almost frightful forehand, has just recently come onto the radar as a true contender at the majors and was concerned the favourite over Ferrero who many concern to have peaked six years ago when he won Roland Garros.

The level at which these two were playing was fantastically high from the onset with many beautiful serves (though especially lovely from JCF's super smooth motion), 20+ shot rallies and quintessential one-two punches. Gonzo, as expected, captured an early break and though he did allow Ferrero into his own service games the Chilean held his own and was able to take the first set 6-4.

JCF, who had played superb lawn tennis to enter the third round, relied on his years of experience to overcome any discouragement. He kept the second set supremely tight by running Gonzo to every corner of Court 1. Finally, at 5-6, Ferrero was granted a break point and somehow got his racquet on a remarkable serve, continued to construct the point to Gonzo's backhand before charging the net for a winner and the second set. The third set seemed to find Juan Carlos very much at ease, holding with little trouble while Fernando was a bit more sluggish but still took care of his serve. As almost a repeat of the last set, Ferrero found an opportunity at 4-5 to break and to up a two to one set lead.

Gonzo, clearly frustrated, took JCF's first game of the fourth set to numerous deuces before snatching it away from the Spaniard. He went on the grab the fourth set, 6-4, despite an unruly public announcement which alluded to the completion of this match on Centre Court. Both players were put off by the rude interruption though, luckily, did not end up exchanging courts for their fifth set.

Ferrero apparently enjoyed the way he closed out his prior two sets and instead of securing an early break, he waiting until Gonzo was serving at 4-5. Sadly, the Chilean double faulted to hand over the game, set and match but otherwise put on an extraordinary three-hour match with his fellow, charming, Spanish-speaking opponent.

Rollin' into and out of Wimbledon

As most desperately office-ridden tennis fans, Friday morning was spent hopelessly refreshing my Google search on world #1 Rafael Nadal: is he going to play Wimbledon? Speculation and rumours flew about until the statement was finally given: No. The answer is shockingly 'No.' The champion will not return, this year, to the green grass grounds and defend his title after an uncharacteristic loss on the French clay. Citing painful tendonitis in his knees, Nadal is simply not at 100% and has too much respect for the game and its premier tournament to play when he cannot set forth his best effort.

Nadal's absence seemingly leaves the fortnight wide open for Roger Federer to not only snatch back his Wimbledon crown but also regain the coveted #1 ranking that he held for a record four years. The Swiss star, who recently set foot into an elite group by winning the French Open, will be facing a new type of pressure. Even though he indisputably reigned on Centre Court for five straight years, he was always thought of as the favourite. This year everyone is already saying that in 15 days Roger will have his 15th Grand Slam winner's trophy. He is not merely expected win; he will win.

Oddly enough, the only tangible impact Nadal's withdrawal can have on Federer shows itself if he appears in the final. If the past five years tell us anything we should be able to neatly write, in pen, Roger's name on the final Sunday's roster, but his path to victory in Paris was anything but smooth. Many of this year's entrants will be taking a note from Robin Soderling's performance just weeks ago and will probably walk onto Wimbledon's lawns without anything to lose, giving the usual contenders new worlds of trouble. Regardless, I expect to see a lean and improved Andy Roddick resurrect and an aged rivalry will old buddy (and fellow married man) Fed.

Superb on Sundays

Minus the triumphs of finally completing the career Slam and tying Pete Sampras' record 14 Grand Slams, the 2009 Rolland Garros final was merely another day at the office for Mr. Federer. He did what he usually does on final Sundays and it was none the easier this time around.

As he so often does, and as we are all so used to seeing, Roger dismissed his opponent by merely cloaking Soderling with fear and doubt. Similar to last year's US Open where Andy Murray was featured in his first Grand Slam final, the breakthrough Swede could not find the level of play he exhibited the rest of the tournament, allowing Federer to draw out errors and comfortably capture his first Coupe des Mousquetaires.

Perhaps the Swiss did get somewhat lucky for the first time in four years to not face the still undisputed clay court master, Rafael Nadal, across the net. Even though both are gracious, worthy champions, Federer continues to shows his dominance -- most notably by reaching 20 straight Grand Slam semis.

Many may try to peg this victory as a chance win, but history will surely prove to show more class. It does not matter who he ultimately defeated, Federer is indisputably the greatest tennis player of this generation.

Pressure Enough

Roger Federer has enough self-inflicted pressure from a personal pursuit of history without the onlooking world adding its own. Arguably, Roger fell victim to stress when he struggled during his matches against Tommy Haas and Juan Martin Del Potro, the latter of whom had never even taken a set away the Swiss superstar until yesterday when he got a hold of two.

Sunday will mark Federer's fourth consecutive attempt to capture the Roland Garros title, when a successful victory will finally complete the career Grand Slam and silence the critics. The former world #1 clearly has lots to worry about, not even considering a child on the way, and deserves no more from anyone else.

Sure we love Roger and it's doubtful that even Magnus Norman will full-heartedly be pulling for Robin Soderling, but he need not worry. Roger Federer will forever be the beloved tennis idol, with or without a dirty French trophy.

Not Even Close

While the 5-set, apparently tight 6-7, 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 score of Roger Federer's round of 16 battle against Tommy Haas suggests that an epic clash of wilful opponents had occurred, it was perhaps one of the most listless, uninspired matches of this year's French Open.

Rarely is a player up two sets to love and not considered in control of the match. Haas was in that exact position with all but the taste of victory over the former world #1. Federer, though uncharacteristically dull, did not lose a point on his serve the entire first set until the tiebreak and even at that point didn't seem to make an effort to level the match. Instead, as done in the past, he dug himself a nice big hole - almost to give more reason to put on a show of droppers, aces and backhand winners up the line. Certainly the German played a large role by self-destructing right in front of the largest beast willing to take open prey, but there was never any substantive thought given to Fed's potential loss.

In fact, when Nadal was down two sets to one, commentary turned to Federer winning Roland Garros. When Roger was down two to love, talk moved to the looming 5 sets (which ended up lasting merely 3 hours). This only goes to show the absurdity of the general will to want Federer to win the career grand slam. Just remember though, Rafa lost by some amazing fluke that possessed Soderling. Roger won by one... this time.

Drop Shot Much?

As mind-numbingly nerving as Roger Federer's second round match against experienced Jose Acasuso was, there was a refreshing intelligence of play that was exhibited by both players. Neither started with a particularly famous game plan but humility and the brinks of defeat worked wonders for the creative development of the latter stages of this match.

Acasuso came out blazing, proving that he can hang right in there with the Fed by forcing Roger's second service game to 8 deuces, though failing to convert 5 break point chances. To hold, Federer was forced to hit an amazing service out wide, setting up and beautifully disguised drop volley. However, the lost opportunities did not phase the Argentine, who went on to hold and then go up a break by coming to the net himself. As expected, though, the former world #1 immediately lifted his game as needed and broke back with an utterly gorgeous backhand down the line, hit at full stretch. The set was destined for a tiebreak and the first two points went to the returner. Then something odd happened. Acasuso, mildly possessed, flew off to a 6-3 lead. Roger threw in two aces to erase the set points on his racquet, forcing Jose to serve out the set. The two ended up in a long rally of 20 shots before Fed decided to take all the pace off a backhand, drawing a waywardly hit ball from Acasuso: 6-all. Federer went on to take it 10-8.

The second set wasn't nearly as exciting as after a trade of breaks, each held serve fairly comfortably until Acasuso was able to finagle a deuce game on Roger's service at 5-5. He went on to break and hold to take the second set 7-5. At the 2-hour mark, we began the best of three.

Federer was certainly at odds, unable to gather proper footing, stunningly missing routine forehands and simply panicking. Acasuso took the golden opportunity and ran up to a 4-love lead before Roger could get an grasp of the set. It was looking rather grim for Swiss fans, already imaging a fifth set or, at worst, an embarrassing first week loss for the heart-favourite. No worries though, as Federer quickly found his game: serving easy aces, drawing errors, charging the net and invoking his world-class talent as intimidation. He broke back and went on to steamroll the tiebreak 7-2.

The fourth set was what we would have expected from him during such an early round obstacle, though Federer did seem to use this as a practice session for a potential Nadal final. Roger repeatedly hit the forehand drop shot, the backhand slice drop shot, the half-volley drop shot, the return of serve drop shot... and all with great success. Surely a swift Rafa will connect with more than a big fellow like Acasuso, but Roger, having passed this one, will surely be up to the test.

Heavy, Heavy Hitting

Evidently the soft-touch, graceful game is on its way out of the Open we consider French. If you were lucky enough to catch any of yesterday's matches you must have noticed a theme that consisting of wailing the racquet hard enough to potentially decapitated an unprepared opponent with the oncoming yellow bullet. Oddly enough, this style of tennis was most entertaining on the red dirt.

Nadal, Murray, Hewitt, Safin, even the gentle Italian Starace were drawn into forceful play. Obviously the slow, heavy conditions of the day facilitated fewer errors (forced or unforced), longer rallies and stronger serves. Almost every shot struck yesterday could have been considered a winner had the players not been so incredibly quick. Perhaps most impressive was French wildcard Josselin Ouanna. The 23-year old whacked away from every inch of Roland Garros' Centre Court to outlast retirement-bound Marat Safin and will advance to a third round match up against Gonzo. Ouanna was somehow able to flatten most of Marat's balls and beautifully redirect the fuzz while adding even more pace than provided by the Russian. Needless to say, the returning shot was impossible to track down. After 4 and a half hours of seemingly tiresome play, Ouanna prevailed, blazing his shots as easily as in the start.

However, to taste ultimate success in Paris, I suspect most will try to finish points more quickly and shorten the court as much as possible. The truly arduous matches will start now with Murray seeing the intellect of Janko Tipsarevic, Verdasco meeting crafty Nicolas Almagro and Rafa trying to grind down scrappy Hewitt. None of these is a gimme win, but it's hard to bet against the seeds here. Well, maybe not Murray...

En Route

Round 1 of Roland Garros is well underway, already harbouring defiant battles and highlighting spots of rust on our not-so-well-oiled machines... err world-class tennis players. The warranted heartbreaks thus far certainly go to Ivo Karlovic who aced Lleyton Hewitt 55 times over a grueling 5-set match but was still unable to taste victory and the country of France which has seen 16 casualties despite a homecourt advantage.

Regardless, play continued through Day 2 and the spectators in Philippe-Chatrier were treated to a schedule of Safina, Nadal and Federer! As the crowd was still rolling in Safina ran through two bagel sets to advance into the second round. Rafa was up to begin defending the crown he's worn for 4 straight years. His opponent: Brasilian qualifier Marcos Daniel who seems to be his country's sole hopeful talent since Guga's retirement in 2001. After this performance, Brasil should be proud. While he could not knock out the heart favourite in Paris, Daniel surely pushed Nadal to close his first round match 7-5, 6-4, 6-3. He charged the net, took away Nadal's passing shots, patiently drew out errors during long rallies, broke Rafa three times and, most impressively, never allowed the champion to comfortably settle into the match. Unfortunately, at 30, it is unlikely that Marcos will make too far of a run at the majors but he will certainly be helpful in the future to players who do not appear in his half of the draw.

In fact, Nadal's most worthy competitor was probably quite pleased with Daniel forcing an expenditure of 2.5 hours early on while he finished off veteran Alberto Martin in about 90 minutes. Though the expected RG finalist got off to a mildly slow 0-2 start, he quickly broke back and went on a power cruise-control without looking back. Federer put on a very impressive show, playing the clay more like a hardcourt & even grass at times. Assuming he can keeping his repertoire of shots as varied as he did yesterday, Federer will have no worries floating past the rest of the herd.

Avenging the One that Got Away

As Paris prepares for its premier sporting event, Roland Garros, spectators around the world are only reminded of Melbourne and the tragedy that was the Australian Open Men's Final. Though they had never met in the final of a hardcourt major, the former and current world #1s began the match by simply picking up from 8-all in the fifth set from Wimbledon 7 months earlier. Breaks were traded, serves were smashed and ultimately dreams were broken. While Nadal prevailed as the eventual victor of the epic battle, Federer's humanly tears blurred his vision of the entire world crying along his side.

Rafa had clearly mastered the art of hardcourt play, most notably against countryman Fernando Verdasco in the semis, and earned the first Grand Slam of the year as his first major hardcourt conquest; but not even his most peripheral fans were satisfied. This was Roger's major to win and it slipped out of his hands. Never will the 2009 Aussie Open be considered the one Nadal won... but always as the one Federer lost.

Now we enter Rafa's house. The Spaniard has never fallen in front of the illustrious French crowd and looks poised to continue his run. However, with his recent clay win Roger is pumped to tie Pistol Pete's record and finally grab the elusive career Grand Slam. His Madrid success, though, is reminiscent of Federer's victory over Nadal in Hamburg in 2007 which proved to predict nothing substantive in Paris. This time, Murray & Djokovic may be of some added trouble to both highest seeds, but, as per usual, expect to see these top two on the final Sunday.

A Time Capsule of Shot-making

An old rivalry was resuscitated on Rod Laver Arena a few nights back. This was the hottest ticket in town as the stage's namesake didn't even get a front row seat and had to watch the magic unfold from 15 rows back. Roger Federer, in pursuit of his 4th title down under, faced a semifinal match up against American Andy Roddick.

Even though Federer had a 15-2 record against Roddick, Andy did win their last meeting was playing smashing tennis throughout the tournament. But this was going to be a different night for him.

Roger knows Andy's game better than anybody and started off by enticing him into the net. Federer sliced every ball short, setting up perfect passing shots. Not one return was put into Roddick's strike zone; balls were either sliced and stayed low or hit so flat that they kicked up around Andy's shoulders. Even on his own service games the American was put on the defensive and Federer was able to unload every shot in the book, and a few that he, solely, owns: backhand slice winners up the line, crosscourt flicks, angles so steep they might as well have been parallel to the net and many more. He even out-aced Roddick! Clearly Andy had no chance in this match but did go down fighting.

Roddick made one obvious change this time around. He tried to play Fed's game, most noticeably with the slice backhand (which worked beautifully for him against Djokovic). However, the inventor of the shot could obviously handle it with ease. As much as he tried, Roddick was not about to out-finesse Mr. Federer.

Roger, with easy wins over Del Potro and Roddick coasts into the final and awaits world #1, Rafa Nadal. The dream final is upon us but everyone is expecting Federer to come out the victor. Nadal survived a grueling 5 set match against countryman Fernando Verdasco which outlasted any other Australian Open match in the tournament's history. Rafa is coming into the final physically and emotionally drained with only a day to recover. The perfect Swiss should have little trouble dismantling the only other true champion on tour.

Feelin' the Heat

Can anyone forget the horror that was the US Open quarterfinal: Djokovic versus Roddick. Before the match even began both were skeptical of his opponent's skills and motives. Andy jokingly mentioned Djokovic's countless injuries and illnesses and Novak upset the New York crowd by attacking Roddick's comments. Well, yesterday's match should have made for a different story as Australia is oceans away from the States, but things were oddly similar. Both men picked up right where they left off in New York, each thrashing the ball in place of actually taking direct jabs at the other. Neither had an opportunity to break but Djokovic was able to pull ahead during the tiebreak to clinch the first set. And then the match really started... or at least started to end.

The temperature on Rod Laver Arena soared to a staggering 120° Fahrenheit and both Andy and Novak were drenched in their own sweat. Officials chose not to close the roof and the men played on. Actually, Roddick played on -- as if this were routine. The lad on the other side of the net was in far worse shape. After the first game of the second set Djokovic appeared exceedingly weary. He took every possible moment between serves to capture a few extra seconds of heaven in the shade, tried to finish off points after the second shot and even attempted to own the net. He was promptly broken and no sooner called for some medical attention.

The trainers took about 6 minutes to give Nole, what seemed to be, a very nice rub down after which he walked out as sluggish as if he had played for hours in a tight deadlock of a match. Though the interruption seemed to have affected Andy too as he threw in three straight double faults in the immediately following game. Regardless, it was all over from there. Roddick had the choice to finish off points quickly and put Djokovic out of his misery or to dance with the one who brought him. He danced. Andy took the next two sets handily since Novak wasn't going to attempt to run down balls that were not within a four-foot striking zone. The inevitable came early in the fourth set when Djokovic retired and Roddick gained a date with his old rival Roger (a match not to be missed!).

Even though Djokovic will speak to comments about this match in reference to his ailment(s) and the tournament schedule, this was Andy's match. A perfectly fit Novak would never have been able to keep up with the bullet-like serves and surprisingly gorgeous backhand slice that Roddick was using. This was his night to lose; certainly not the defending champ's to win.

Perfection

If Roger Federer plays even half as well as he did against crafty Marat Safin he will have no trouble duplicating his incredible run of 2007 where he captured the Aussie Open title without dropping a single set.

Swiss precision was alive from the very beginning with Roger holding his first 3 services games at love and then promptly broke Safin at love to go up 5-3 with a perfect backhand slice to set up a forehand winner. Federer went on to hold with four strong serves to capture the first set. Marat, clearly irritated, held back the need to slam a few racquets and flaunt his usual range of emotions - though he struggled to find any ground on the court. Federer, astutely sensing Safin' trouble gaining rhythm, floated balls into his opponent's court; spinning, slicing and slowing the pace for every potential rally.

The second set started similarly with Safin hitting hard but erratic and Federer directing shots on his own terms. He broke the big Russian at 2-all after bringing Safin into the net and passing him with a terrific cross court winner. For security Roger was able to break again at 5-2 and had a commanding 2 sets to love lead in one hour flat.

Safin finally found his game thereafter and both served beautifully with neither even facing a break point. The tiebreak arrived and though each man was able to string together consecutive points and mini-breaks, it was Roger who took the last serve to claim the 4th round spot.

Every one of Federer's shots was executed to perfection and it seems unlikely that, in this form, any fellow deserves to even step on the court with him. Andy Murray will have to put on a tremendous display against Austrian veteran Jurgen Melzer to remain the bookies' favourite.

Super Mario

Serve versus serve, volley versus volley, Croat versus Croat. Yesterday, Mario Ancic took on Ivo Karlovic in the second round of the Aussie Open. Though Mario has arguably enjoyed a more fruitful career than him compatriot, coming to at least the quarters in both Paris and London, it was 25th seed Karlovic who was expected to walk into a 3rd round match against Simon.

The match began just as expected with monstrous serves, short points and both men charging the net. It wasn't until the middle of the first set until either won even a point on the opponent's serve, let alone had a chance to break. Ancic was the first to capitalise on a few of Karlovic's second serves, breaking at 4-3 to gain the first lead, but was unable to hold on and let Ivo break back twice to take the opening set 7-5. The second set was almost a duplicate of the first, with Mario finally able to break away -- this time he did not succumb to the nerves that prevented him from converting his first-set-points and won the second 7-5.

Karlovic found his setting again during the third set and barely gave away points on his serve the entire set and won it 6-4. Ancic returned the favour in the fourth and sent the match into the decider where he regularly found himself in the Karlovic-game and would earn a break to go up 4-3 and then once again, with a powerful return, to win the match.

Ancic, who was plagued by a severe case of mono for almost a year that halted his success, has arrived in Melbourne with the spirit and grace to rival any man. While I'm sure the rest of the draw is happy to have Ivo out, none should be too excited about battling this Croat instead.

Business as Usual

Round 1 of the Australian Open is over with little surprise, but lots of glory.

Roger Federer began his quest by defeating Italian Andreas Seppi, an opponent he had not surrender a set to over three past meetings, in another straight set victory that was actually much too close for many to stomach. While Federer got the job done and moved beautifully around the court, he did not display his usual variety of magnificent shots and instead let forehands sail long and backhands dump into the net -- most notably on set point in the second, Federer miscalculated the easiest of forehands to an open court and the ball bounced inches outside the baseline when he could have hit it feet inside the court. However, the strain was also brought by Seppi as the Italian clearly came out with nothing to lose. He had already lost to Federer a number of times and so went for it all in every ball, coming up with miraculous shots that stunned Federer as well as the crowd. He made it difficult for the Swiss champion, but not impossible.

His second round match against the surprise victor Evgeny Korolev who took out former World #1 Carlos Moya was a different story. Roger brought out every one of his tricks and just let the inexperienced Russian self destruct. The endearing and somewhat dangerous game of Korolev is one that does not know the meaning of the word defense. This child took an extravagant whack at anything that came his way, sending many balls metres away from the court. At times he came up with brilliant drop shots and volleys (which admittedly seem to catch Federer napping a bit), but those were few and far between and certainly not enough to challenge an on-point Federer who picked up any playable ball with ease. During Korolev's second service game in the third set, Roger hit a shot he had invented at last year's US Open: a scissor-kicking, leaping swing to a high ball from behind the baseline which carved the ball back into the court while spinning away from the opponent -- and sending the crowd into a frenzy. With that shot, we knew the master had shown up in Melbourne.

Nadal, conversely, had no trouble dismantling his first round opponent in just over 1.5 hours. Rafa arrived, guns blazing -- though a change of the familiar wardrobe left us without a clear view of those biceps we've come to know so well. Rochus gained only four games during the entire match, leaving the message that Nadal may be ready to win a major on the hard court.

One thing that did seem off though, was the court itself. Everybody - Roger, Rafa, Roddick, Nole, Muller, Gonzo, Hewitt etc - seemed rushed. It looked as if nobody had a moment to plan out and properly time his shots. Perhaps it was just the first round jitters as Federer did seem to somewhat clear this up during his second round match. Perhaps the court really is playing faster than people believe. Regardless, these men need to figure it out sooner than later if they plan to be around next week.

A New Year

And so it begins...

2008 proved to be a roller coaster for tennis fans as Rafael Nadal worked his magic, Roger Federer showed his humanity and youngsters from around the world started to play at a level to combat these two powerhouses. 2009 comes with fierce anticipation and many questions that need answers. Granted only time will show us how the events unfold for the year, but there's no harm in making a few guesses on our own.

Can Nadal ride his success from last year through 2009?

It would be foolish to say that Rafa is lacking form or vigor to take away at least one grand slam this year. Though his powerful game is very taxing on the body (which is starting to wear) the Spaniard is only 22 and cannot yet be plagued with injuries. If I had to guess, I bank success on his ever-fruitful clay in Paris but will not give him Wimbledon again. With the likes of potentially historic years for both Federer and Murray ahead, it is unlikely that Nadal will be able to reproduce his 2008 Olympic performance in 2009; but expect him to put up a respectable fight in both the Aussie and US Opens.

Is 2009 Murray's Year?

Doubtful. While the bookies are having a ball keeping Murray the favourite to win in Melbourne, it's hard for any spectator to believe it until he actually comes through to win a slam. Sure, the lone Brit has been able to easily beat Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and others in Masters tournaments, but the kid still has some maturing to do to win a major and keep himself as a consistent final-Sunday contender.

Will Roger break Pete's record?

We all expected Federer to smash Sampras' grand slam record last year but fans were deeply disappointed when a bout of mono kicked off a rough year for the Swiss, culminating in a recovery to win the US Open after losing his Australian Open and Wimbledon crowns along with his world #1 ranking. Many may think 2008 marked the beginning of the end for Federer, but I firmly believe that he will break at least one more record before letting go of his stature at the top. Expect Roger to make a beautiful run, starting tomorrow, in Australia, combat Nadal in yet another Roland Garros final, reclaim Wimbledon and continue his stranglehold in New York. The Federer Era is far from over and this year he will prove to be the greatest to ever pick up a racquet.