Sunday, January 28, 2007
Serena, Federer win first major of the year
The first major of the year, and the one many expect to see long and drawn out matches thanks in part to it being the first major and the extreme heat, saw the most dominating finals on both sides in recent times.
Serena Williams and Roger Federer both finished off their opponents at the Australian Open in remarkably easy time to win their eighth and 10th majors respectively.
First up was Serena Williams who started out the tournament ranked 81st in the world and was widely regarded as a dangerous floater throughout the tournament. There was concern from everyone from her mum and coach, Oracene Price, to fans and analysts about her weight and her playing form. But Serena was out to prove that her mental game was at her best ever when she took out 27th-seeded Mara Santangelo in the first round (6-2, 6-1). Taking out fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova in the third round sent signals to her potential opponents that she was a force to be reckoned with. But it was her fourth-round pull-through over the hottest player going into the tournament, 11th-seeded Jelena Jankovic, that gave Serena the confidence to start thinking and playing as a champion.
By the time she met the top-seeded Sharapova in the final, Serena had played herself back into playing shape and was unstoppable throughout the match. Sharapova, who was used to dictating points through most of her matches, could not find an opening to exploit her way back into the match. Playing like the no.1 seed, Serena seemed to be hitting her strides with every point. Ace after ace, forehand and backhand winners from every part of the court, she hit her way past the frustrated Sharapova to claim her third Australian Open and improve her rankings to 14th in the world.
To add to the already tear-dropping moment was her dedication of the trophy to her deceased sister Yetunde Price, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Compton couple of years ago. Serena fought away tears as she talked about wanting to win the trophy for her older sister. This won't be the last final we would see Serena in a grand slam final this year, we can only hope that Venus would use her sister's remarkable run as a motive to return to the top of women's tennis once again.
When it comes to Roger Federer's influence on tennis as a sport, few words can capture his current reign as the tennis king. Few athletes have dominated their sport in the manner and relatively short span (Jordan, Tiger) that he has. With Pete Sampras' record of most grand slam tournaments set at 14, Federer,barring any freak accidents that will force him to quit the sport, will most assuredly pass the past king of tennis.
After losing to Andy Roddick in an exhibition tournament just before the Australian Open, Federer was facing questions on how he would play Roddick, whose improved game--thanks to Jimmy Connors--was the talk of the tour. In addition to that, players like Fernando Gonzalez, who was playing past the stereotype of spanish players as only clay court specialists,James Blake and Andy Murray, to name a few, seemed to be closing the gap on his dominance. However, with his usual quiet demeanor, which is rarely described of champions, he raced to his 10th slam without dropping a set; the first to do so since Bjorn Borg won the French Open in 1980.
In all fairness to Gonzalez, he had an incredible run to his first ever major final beating tournament favorites like James Blake and Rafael Nadal, and surprise semi-finalist Tommy Haas to get there, which was as inspiring as Serena's run to the final. But going against a player like Federer is similar to playing Michael Jordan and the '93-98 Bulls in the hopes of winning the NBA Championship.
We can hardly wait until the the French Open--which he has yet to win--to see if Federer can claim a career grand slam, en route to a possible grand slam title, but it is not out of league to start suggesting that in a sport that still suffers from little recognition, the best athlete in the world-- he still goes unrecognized in some parts of his country, Switzerland-- might be playing his way into sports' history books with little fanfare.
Serena Williams and Roger Federer both finished off their opponents at the Australian Open in remarkably easy time to win their eighth and 10th majors respectively.
First up was Serena Williams who started out the tournament ranked 81st in the world and was widely regarded as a dangerous floater throughout the tournament. There was concern from everyone from her mum and coach, Oracene Price, to fans and analysts about her weight and her playing form. But Serena was out to prove that her mental game was at her best ever when she took out 27th-seeded Mara Santangelo in the first round (6-2, 6-1). Taking out fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova in the third round sent signals to her potential opponents that she was a force to be reckoned with. But it was her fourth-round pull-through over the hottest player going into the tournament, 11th-seeded Jelena Jankovic, that gave Serena the confidence to start thinking and playing as a champion.
By the time she met the top-seeded Sharapova in the final, Serena had played herself back into playing shape and was unstoppable throughout the match. Sharapova, who was used to dictating points through most of her matches, could not find an opening to exploit her way back into the match. Playing like the no.1 seed, Serena seemed to be hitting her strides with every point. Ace after ace, forehand and backhand winners from every part of the court, she hit her way past the frustrated Sharapova to claim her third Australian Open and improve her rankings to 14th in the world.
To add to the already tear-dropping moment was her dedication of the trophy to her deceased sister Yetunde Price, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Compton couple of years ago. Serena fought away tears as she talked about wanting to win the trophy for her older sister. This won't be the last final we would see Serena in a grand slam final this year, we can only hope that Venus would use her sister's remarkable run as a motive to return to the top of women's tennis once again.
When it comes to Roger Federer's influence on tennis as a sport, few words can capture his current reign as the tennis king. Few athletes have dominated their sport in the manner and relatively short span (Jordan, Tiger) that he has. With Pete Sampras' record of most grand slam tournaments set at 14, Federer,barring any freak accidents that will force him to quit the sport, will most assuredly pass the past king of tennis.
After losing to Andy Roddick in an exhibition tournament just before the Australian Open, Federer was facing questions on how he would play Roddick, whose improved game--thanks to Jimmy Connors--was the talk of the tour. In addition to that, players like Fernando Gonzalez, who was playing past the stereotype of spanish players as only clay court specialists,James Blake and Andy Murray, to name a few, seemed to be closing the gap on his dominance. However, with his usual quiet demeanor, which is rarely described of champions, he raced to his 10th slam without dropping a set; the first to do so since Bjorn Borg won the French Open in 1980.
In all fairness to Gonzalez, he had an incredible run to his first ever major final beating tournament favorites like James Blake and Rafael Nadal, and surprise semi-finalist Tommy Haas to get there, which was as inspiring as Serena's run to the final. But going against a player like Federer is similar to playing Michael Jordan and the '93-98 Bulls in the hopes of winning the NBA Championship.
We can hardly wait until the the French Open--which he has yet to win--to see if Federer can claim a career grand slam, en route to a possible grand slam title, but it is not out of league to start suggesting that in a sport that still suffers from little recognition, the best athlete in the world-- he still goes unrecognized in some parts of his country, Switzerland-- might be playing his way into sports' history books with little fanfare.
