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.
Wow, another fantastic match. I watched the whole match as I did with both semi finals. Although I was going for Federer I think Nadal totally deserves that victory and he is a true champion. To back a 5 set, 5 hour semi final up with another 5 set, 4 hour + final in less than 48 hours was a true show of Rafa’s strength and endurance. You could also see by the body language of the players and shot selection that Rafa had the edge on Federer mentally. To have won 6 grandslams on 3 different surfaces at Rafa’s age is a truely remarkable feat. I was hoping Federer would equal Sampras’ record of 14 grand slams but Rafa was truely deserving having played another great match. Rafa truely is an entertainer as he is involved in all three of the greatest matches I have now seen – the Wimbledon final against Federer last year, the semi final against Verdasco the other day and this final against Federer. It will be very tough for Federer to recover from the mental scarring that has occurred in this loss and the Wimbledon loss last year along with all the French Open losses to Nadal. Especially as the next Grand Slam event is the French Open which will most likely mean Federer copping another hiding to Nadal. It was however very sad to see Federer break down in tears at the presentation, it was a horrible feeling to watch. I imagine it was because of the Legends awaiting to congratulate Federer if he got the 14 grand slams that he got so emotional.
I also watched this match, and I was rooting for Federer, but I don’t think it was fatigue that was Federer’s problem. I also don’t think it’s because Rafa is “in his head”. I think Federer is stubborn and refuses to change his game plan. I wrote about this more at my blog, if you want to read it: why Federer struggles so much against Nadal.
Even though I was disappointed by the outcome, I still marveled many times at the incredible shotmaking on display! Those 2 guys are in a league by themselves. Sure, they may lose sometimes to other players, but when they’re “on”, no one else can play at their level.
BTW, I’m also having tennis withdrawals now… I’m ready for it to warm up so I can get back to playing.