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It never gets old (Roger vs. Rafa) but then as a loyal and devoted Federer fan, perhaps it does, or frustrating, sad, etc. Same story down under after all the hype, Nadal takes down Federer in the semifinals of the Australian Open, 7-6, 6-3, 6-3. Yes, it was hard fought, especially the first set. One had to feel deflated after Fed lost the first set in the tie break. He looked like his confidence was waning for sure midway through the second set as Rafa was just relentless. The tactics that work against everyone else on tour (and yes, I mean Murray, Djokovic, and the rest) just do not hold up against Nadal. Then Federer begins to press and looked out of sorts…well, you all know what I mean if you watched. So much is about the mental part, and Nadal is in Roger’s head. This is not to say Federer played at all poorly, he played extremely well, but he was not able to do things as he wanted to do them and was also unable to make adjustments to compensate. Way too many unforced errors, shaky at the net, as compared to his matches against Tsonga and Murray, and not enough first serves and declining percentage of points won on second set as the match went on. At the end of the day, it is about match-ups and Nadal is a tough matchup for Federer and his game. Yes he beat him a couple of years ago at Indian Wells, and literally wiped the court with him the end of 2011 at the Year End Tournament in London. But this scene from last night has been an all too familiar one for those of us who pull for Roger Federer. All credit to Rafa, such intensity and power. I do believe this tournament has shown us that Roger can have a much better 2014 and compete for a major, Wimbledon being his best shot. He can match up with anyone on his day, and has the game to take down Djokovic, Murray, Berdych, Del Potro, etc. Nadal remains the big X factor for accomplishing Grand Slam title #18.
Meanwhile, Rafa will take on the other Swiss, Stan Wawrinka in the final. Wawrinka has never beaten Nadal but his backhand is a bigger weapon against Rafa than Roger’s. Still, Nadal is the heavy favorite, but I will pull for Stan to win his first Grand Slam.
Rod Laver Arena was full of tennis legends last night, Rod Laver, Ken Rosenthal and Pete Sampras. Pete keeps a very low profile so it was nice to see him in the crowed of esteemed tennis greats.
Li Na vs. Dominika Cibulkova will be tonight (wee hours of the am) for the women’s final.
Still disappointed…..later!
P.S. I was hoping for rain and a closed roof! (Fed is 4-1 over Nadal on indoor hard courts)
