In both men's and women's draws I am not surprised by the outcome. Serena's victory wasn't even a question as she seems to be dominating the WTA, awarding her the number one rank in the world. She deserves the ranking seeing that she annihilated Dinara Safina who was seeded one below her in the number three spot. However, by looking at the scores you wouldn't think that they has consecutive seeds as Serena plowed through in straight sets for an easy victory 6-0, 6-3.
The men's side, although much more interesting still was no shocker as Rafael Nadal outplayed Federer. Federer was no slouch on the court, hustling for every ball and trying to stay in every point but Nadal was just too good. It has gotten to the point that Federer has come to realize that Nadal is just better and that he has reached his peak while Nadal has many more stairs to climb. The difference in play was evident in the final fifth set as Federer appeared to run out of steam allowing the younger Rafa to win easily 6-2.
Although my money was on Rafa from the start I am surprised at his level of conditioning as he went from winning a 5 hour match with less than 48 hours of rest to winning another match in just over 4 hours.
He has really started the year off well and if he stays healthy I think that he just might be able to win all four grand slams in one year. He has proven victorious on clay at the French Open and has even been able to beat Federer at Wimbledon. The U.S Open, is now the only grand slam title that Rafa has not won. However, having a win in Melbourne under his belt should give him more confidence knowing that he can succeed on a hard surface. Wimbledon could also be a threat to ruining his hopes of winning every grand slam because although he is the defending champion you can never count Federer out when it comes to the grass surface. Federer has amazing results on grass having won five Wimbledon titles in a row.
The year of 2009 is starting to appear as a very interesting year for the men's draw. Questons arise such as, will Rafa win all four grand slams or will Federer be able to stop him? Or maybe, is there someone else out there who can threaten Nadal's dreams as going down in history, possibly Fernando Verdasco?
As for the ladies, will Serena be able to hold onto the number one ranking, or will it be tossed around like a hot potato? I cannot wait to see what the year has in tole for the tennis world.
Hi Steph, this blog is so great to read. You really know your stuff. I enjoy your analysis and predictions.
ReplyDeletegreat insight and analysis. what do you think of murray, where will he fit into the picture this season? looking forward to reading more of your observations.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we should count Murray out yet. Melbourne just might not have been the tournament for him, he seemed to be having a tough time from the start; showing flu like symptoms. He also seemed to draw a bad hand, but that's the luck of the draw.
ReplyDeleteI think we can expect great things from Murray especially when he returns back to Wimbledon where he will have the support of the fans. Any thoughts?
there was a lot of pressure on murray to finally be that english champion that the british fans have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for through years and years of fales hopes. I agree that Murray is a top player and a contender for any grand slam crown, except for the French, which we probably should just give to Nadal right now!
ReplyDeleteam looking forward to the davis cup first round match between the usa and switzerland this month to see how roddick and federer who play each other respond to their aussie open disappointments, what do others think?