Making history

(This post is a week late.)

Rafael Nadal made history by being the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open by beating Roger Federer in 5 sets, 7-5 3-6 7-6(3) 3-6 6-2 in last week's finals. Not only did Rafa make history by setting a new record, he also made history by making his archrival, Roger Federer cry. Yup, if there was one man who reduced Roger to tears, IT WAS RAFA!


I was overjoyed when Rafa captured his first hard-court grand slam. I couldn't stop myself from screaming and jumping. But seeing Federer hurt and crying, I felt sorry for him. He didn't hold back his feelings and was brave enough to let the whole world see him in tears. Now, there's one more reason for people to admire him.


But then again, if you're a true-to-the-bone Rafa fanatic and anti-Federer, you couldn't help but feel mighty proud that the Spaniard has the superior advantage in their head-to-head meetings. It's his 13th victory in 19 meetings and his fifth over the Swiss in seven meetings in Grand Slam finals. Five out of seven in Grand Slam finals?!? Now, who's THE MAN?!? Whatever the FEDex fans say, Rafa fanatics will never lose if they stick to that argument. In fact, even Rafael Nadal can use that bit of info to emphasize his bragging rights. But he just won't!

Jessica Zafra was right on the mark when she said in her PhilStar column yesterday that, "The only person with gloating rights is Rafa, and he is too nice." One hundred percent true! During the awarding ceremony, Rafa was of those who applauded Federer and looked almost sheepish and apologetic when he came up on stage. He took the trophy quietly, held it up very briefly, and then went to put his arm around Roger and consoled him. That was truly one for the books.




I am looking forward to more moments like these. More excellent matches, more quality tennnis. One Grand Slam up, three more to go! Next stop is the Roland Garros which will run from May 24th to June 7th. For tennis fans like me, I cannot wait! But for the meantime, I will just content myself with major tournaments first. And oh yeah, cherish these photos. :)




***Acknowledgement***
Thanks to the Australian Open site for the pictures.

A contest for the ages

Was supposed to stay longer in the office last night since I had to finish a lot of things at work. Tried to focus on work but at the same time, I was a constant visitor of the Ausralian Open website. Around 5 PM, I couldn't concentrate anymore. Was listening to the radio broadcast of the semifinals match between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco over the AU Open site. It was a close match, with the first set ending on a tie-break and going Verdasco's way. Since I couldn't contain my excitement any longer, I left the office with the score tied at 4-4, second set. Rafa went on to win that set and when I got home, the score was tied again, third set. I don't remember if it was 4-all or 5-all already though (memory gap, hehe). Should have went home earlier, but then again it's ok. 'Twas brilliant, brilliant tennis from that time on.

A sad note though: I feel sorry for Verdasco that he had to lose on a double fault. A costly mistake, indeed. But he needs to remind himself and put in his head that he played remarkable tennis the entire match, rather than torturing himself with that unforced error.

Anyhow, lemme share with you this article entitled "A contest for the ages" (though it would have been a lot better if you've witnessed the match). ;)


After five hours and 14 minutes of the most astonishing tennis that this year’s Australian Open has seen so far, Rafael Nadal set up his longed-for meeting with Roger Federer in the final. Their title decider at last year’s Wimbledon was a glorious spectacle, and while much is expected of Sunday’s Melbourne rematch, even a contest between the world’s two best players would be hard-pushed to equal the adrenalin-fuelled brilliance of Nadal’s 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(2) 6-7(1) 6-4 win over compatriot Fernando Verdasco in a semifinal which lit up Rod Laver Arena. Read more...

To Rafa and Fernando, thank you for giving us one of the best matches in the history of tennis. Vamos!

Australian Open Updates

It's already the second week of the Australian Open and it's down to the last four men and women in the Grand Slam.

World number 1, Rafael Nadal beat Frenchman Gilles Simon in their quarterfinals match earlier and will face fellow Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco in the semis on Friday, while Roger Federer will go up against Andy Roddick in the other semis match tomorrow night. If you're one of those three loyal readers I have, you probably know by now that I am a big, big fan of Rafael Nadal. :) So obviously, I'm rooting for him and wishing that he gets his first hard court grand slam title. *fingers crossed* You probably also know that I go for anyone but Roger Federer. But right now, it doesn't really matter whether Rafa faces him or Andy. All I want is for Nadal to win the title. ;)

As for the women, Russian Elena Dementieva will try to continue her winning streak against Serena Williams in the first semis match, while the other match will be an all-Russian semifinals between Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva. Williams is undoubtedly, one of the greatest women tennis players, but boy, she gets me fired up whenever she speaks and answers questions during interviews. Such big ego she has! It'll be such a slap in the face if Dementieva gets past Williams. I hope she does. But if not, I'm hoping Safina will give her a difficult time in the finals.

Vamos Rama! Go Safina!

Novak is King of the Australian Open

You are not mistaken!

It's not Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal.

Novak Djokovic, the world's number three, became Serbia's first Grand Slam singles champion, when he defeated Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets, 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6(7-2) at Melbourne Park, Australia.


Good for him.

Novak turned pro in 2003. But if I remember correctly, the first time I saw him play on tv was in 2005. I instantly became a fan. Saw the potential in him (naks, feeling tennis guru naman ako, hehehe) and he was super cute (ayan, mas forte ko
yan :P)! I'm glad that he won his first grand slam, though, a bigger part of me wanted Tsonga to win. The Frenchman was the one who beat Rafa in the semis, while the Serbian won over Federer.

As you probably know by now, next to Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal is my next favorite tennis player. And you might have guessed that I am no Federer fanatic. I cheered for Novak during his match with Federer and was super happy when he beat the world's number one. But as my karma would have it, Rafa lost to Tsonga.

But I still cheered for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Final. Instead of wishing Novak to win so he could avenge the loss of Rafa, I had other twisted things in mind.

* Tsonga needs to win so that Rafa's loss would be easier to accept - at least he lost to the Champion, and
* Novak must not win because I don't want him to get closer and closer to the number 2 spot and take it away from Rafa. He can remain at number 3 all he wants, but he must not overtake Nadal in the rankings.

I am that selfish.

Hmm...did I say that I was glad Novak won? Wachutink?

Open/Idol

Two things I love about the month of January:

(1) Australian Open - first grand slam event of the year. It kicked off yesterday and will run for two weeks. No doubt i'll be rooting for Rafael Nadal. He's a three-time grand slam champion, but these are all from the French Open. Hope he'll do well in the hardcourt and have a fruitful (read: win his first Australian Open) fortnight.

(2) American Idol - Simon, Randy, Paula & Ryan are back. It's that time of the year when America and I start looking for the new American Idol. Hehehe! The thing I like about this show is, it helps me appreciate different types of music. But the downside is, if I didn't like the performance, I could be worse than Simon. Hahaha, just kidding.

Only the first month and I'm already busy. Busy watching tv.