Australian Open 2010
Every year at the Austrian Open there is a surprise player who gets deeper into the draw then expected. Last year it was Fernando Verdasco who lost to Nadal in an epic five hour five set battle in the semis. The year before that it was Tsonga, before Tsonga it was Gonzalez. Marin Cilic was the favorite surprise and he didn't disappoint, battling past Roddick and Del Potro in five sets to meet Murray in the semis. Unfortunately he was worn out and lost in four to an on-form Andy Murray. There were plenty of good matches in the tournament, notably Del Potro vs James Blake, the higher seed eventually beating the American 10-8 in the fifth. Micheal Youzhny vs Gasquet was an interesting match up with two of the best one handed backhands in the game going head to head, Youzhny prevailing in the fifth set, 6-4.
Nicolay Davydenko was a favourite going into the tournament, the Russian who is the defending Shanghai
masters shield holder as well as the world tour finals. The 28 year old Davydenko was on a two match winning
streak against Federer and Nadal and was looking to extend it in the quarter finals where he was
likely to meet the world number one. The Russian edged an inconsistent Verdasco in five sets to get through the
fourth round. Davedenko got off to a strong start taking the first set 6-3. But Federer seemed
determined to make his 23rd consecutive grand slam final (which is mind boggling especially when you
find out that Sampras only made 3 consecutively). Federer won the next three sets displaying some of his
best tennis so far in the Championship.
Nadal and Murray were scheduled to meet in the quarter finals in a match that was highly
anticipated. ( I missed it because I had to go to school but I managed to record it). The first two sets
were high quality but Nadal didn't seem to be playing as well as last year, he was a bit too
defensive, not playing the sublime counter-attacking tennis he is capable of. Jo-Wilfred Tsonga
the former finalist and possible dark horse of the tournament, played the first two five set matches
of his life. He won both of them defeating Almegro and Djokovic. But in the semi finals against
Federer, Tsonga was never really there. He lost in straight sets allowing Federer to get to his
remarkable 8th straight Grand Slam final.
On the other side of the draw Murray beat Marin Cilic who battled past Del Potro and Roddick in five to make the semis. He took the first set against Murray but had been on court
(throughout the championship) for 7 hours and just didn't have enough left in the tank to stop
Murray from making his second slam final.
Federer got off to a strong start, taking the opening set 6-2. The Scot pushed hard
in the second set but Federer was playing at a high level and he took the set 6-4. Murray
gave it everything - in the third set he forced a tie-break, which he lost despite winning 11 points. Federer lifted his arms in the air, which was probably his most controlled celebration.
He later said that he played some of the best tennis of his life and he thought that Murray would win a slam. It was an exciting championships, setting the bar high for the remaining slams.
See you at the French!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb_4Zzihtfk (Definitely worth waiting for the HD to buffer.)
