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.