At 2:57 I suddenly woke up this morning and preempted my alarm clock, which was set to go off at 3:00. For some reason I often wake up shortly before the time I set my alarm to.
I ate breakfast at 3:10, waiting for coverage of the Australian Open final to start at 3:30. Federer and Nadal played a wonderful match. The amount of spin put on the shots was amazing. I do not think most people realize how much of a factor spin is. Topspin, backspin, then no spin. The ball was flying all over the place.
Several rallies caused me to smile and shake my head. Some of the shots did not seem physically possible.
About 3 1/2 hours into the match I had to leave for a music practice at church, so I recorded the rest of the match on my computer. At that point Nadal led 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 and the fourth set was at 3-2 on serve.
When I returned home, shortly after noon, I saw Federer take the fourth set 6-3.
The Australian Open championship came down to a single set. It would seem that Nadal should have been tired after the epic he played against Verdasco on Friday (the longest Australian Open match in history). Federer had a short semi-final game, plus an extra day of rest.
But in the fifth set it was Roger who looked flat and fatigued. He committed a string of errors early in the set that permitted Nadal to break him, leading Nadal to a 6-2 victory.
- Nadal established himself as the unquestionable #1 player in the world.
- Roger was not able to deal with Nadal’s high kick serves and groundstrokes that were constantly hit his backhand side.
- Roger failed to cash in on early break point opportunities, which is a recurring theme when he plays Nadal.
- It’s a shame the fifth set did not reflect how good the match was. The first four sets were so tight and dramatic, it felt anti climatic at the end.
Oh, and I have a severe case of tennis withdrawal right now. I had to fight the urge to walk to snow-covered courts, trace the service box into the snow, and hit serves.
P.S. If you eat breakfast at 3:10 you’ll be very hungry by the time 12:30 rolls around.
