Right well this is the last of my Australian Open 2013 posts which will cover the men's and the ladies finals, both of which had their fare share of dramas, so let's have a look at em.
Starting with the ladies final, we had Victoria Azarenka take on Li Na for the right to retain her title and also her No.1 world ranking. The match itself was a real dramatic topsy turvey affair with neither player playing their best at the same time. And it was Li Na that made the stronger start, not to mention she had most of the crowd behind her, who were mostly against Victoria because of her controversial medical timeout from her semi final match, where she was accused of gamesmanship. In the first set there were breaks aplenty, but it was Li Na that held on to clinch the set, as Vika was clearly jittery with the crowd against her. In the 2nd set however, it was Li Na's turn to get jittery as she went a break down, and she also to make matters worse fell down on the court, spraining her ankle, she had to take a medical timeout herself, after which Vika eventually went on to close out the set. And in the 3rd we had more drama as Li Na sprained her ankle again and also hit her head on the court as she fell, which lead to another timeout. However once play resumed Vika used all her mental strength and focus to finally close out the match and to secure her 2nd consecutive Australian open title with a drama filled 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.
While it wasn't the highest quality match, it definitely was an intruiging one, and it was a really good match up having these two in the final together, as it would be way better than having Maria Shriekapova there, as it would twice as loud! Li Na having endeared herself to the Aussie crowd a couple of years ago in her final loss to Kim Clijsters, had most of the audience on her side, and despite her injury scare she did well to battle on through it even though it was a tough loss for her in the end. But Victoria Azarenka, all controversy aside, I think really deserved to win the title, especially as she had to deal with a crowd that were mostly against her, which I thought was really unfair. In fact I was a bit disgusted with the Aussie crowd in that match, but they did at least show her a bit more respect during the trophy presentation, as by then surely they must have realised just how much emotionally and physically she had to go through to win that match.
So well done to Vika for coming through that one, and she has also proved that she still is very much the world no.1, in Serena Williams absence, and I'm sure she will win many more majors in the future. And I thought it was a bit of an ambitious statement that Serena Williams said anyway that she would go for a calendar slam this season, and I knew that it wouldn't be quite possible for her. And if Vika raises her game against Serena in the future then I'm sure she can go on to dominate the game, even if she isn't the most popular world no.1, she might gain more respect as she carries on in her career. And its a pity in a way she isn't as popular, as off the court she is a really nice affable person, so much more so than the ice cool Maria Sharapova (sorry I know I'm bashing her a bit!) can be. But anyway all the best Vika and well done again.
Right so now I go on to the men's final, which was between Novak Djokovic, the defending champion and the British No.1, Andy Murray, which promised to be an epic tussle. But did it live up to expectations???? Well not quite, but it did provide some really entertaining points and great rallies from both men. And at the start of the match it was Andy that was the stronger player, as he bossed the points and moved Djokovic around, who struggled with his forehand, and the 1st set concluded with a breaker, which Andy won comprehensively. In the 2nd set both men served well and it went to a tiebreak again, but this time at 2-2, Andy was distracted by a feather on court, which he flicked away and he ended up double faulting to lose the point, which let Djoko back in to the match by winning the tie break to level the match. In the 3rd set it went by serve until 3-3, with Andy serving to go 4-3, when we started to see Andy struggle physically as he had blisters on his feet, and he was broken by Nole who went on to close the set and take a 2-1 set lead. Andy also had to take a medical timeout for the blisters on his feet, and afterward his movement was really hampered also by a pulled hamstring. And before we knew it, Nole broke Andy twice, leaving Andy with no way back. Despite one last service hold, it was Djokovic who at 5-2, was serving for the championship, and after going 0-30 down, he soon clawed it back and served out the match to clinch 3rd straight Australian Open title, making a bit of history in the progress, with a 6(2)-7, 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-2 victory.
For the first two sets and a bit, this was a pretty good final, however it was disappointing the way that it ended up for Andy, as for the first two sets he did look the stronger player. But you can never ever write off or underestimate Novak Djokovic, as where there is a will there is without a doubt a way. And it has to be said the main deciding factor in the match was Andy's movement, as once his blisters started to hurt, there was no way he could have beaten Djokovic, as one of the main keys to beating Djokovic is by movement, and physically we saw Andy struggle more as the 4th set went on, and he had also pulled the hamstring in one of his legs as well, so by the end of the match we saw that he was physically hurting, even during the trophy presentation. And at least Andy can take solace in the fact that he has won the best grand slam final they have played together last year at the US Open, which was a far tighter closer match than the two Melbourne finals put together.
Also rather unfortunately for Andy, he only had one full day between the final to recover, and his gruelling match with Federer no doubt wouldn't have helped. Djokovic also had the upper hand in that he had two full days rest between the final and he spent so little time on court during his semi final with David Ferrer so physically he was in peak condition. Although Andy later said in his press conference that the blister didn't overly hamper his movement, he just felt that Novak made his move and returned that bit better making the difference, which he did as he went for his shots more in the 3rd and 4th sets. But I do have to say what was with the bloody feather on the court???? It certainly did distract Andy enough to have to move it, and in the end it cost him the point, and in a bizarre way maybe also the match, as he could have gained a 2 sets to love lead if he had maintained his serve in that tiebreak, and it would have kept him alive longer in the match, if nothing else.
But regardless of another disappointing loss in Melbourne, Andy put in a brave effort in the final and for the most part he played a really good match against the world no.1, and he showed again in this tournament that he is improving all the time, especially now that he was claimed his first grand slam match win over Roger Federer (which was easily one of the best matches of the tournament). I was also quite impressed with Andy during the trophy presentation as
he looked more relaxed and content than before, and he gave a gracious
speech, congratulating Novak and thanking his team and the crowd. And even when he was getting his pics taken with his runner up
dish next to Nole, he looked a bit more at peace with himself and
happier, as clearly getting that major monkey off his back was a big
emotional lift for him. And even though he lost, Andy also proved for the most part of the match, that he remains a real threat to Djokovic, and I think these two guys, if Rafa doesn't make a strong return, will dominate the game this year. And fear not, I'm sure in the major winning department, that we haven't seen the last of Andy Murray yet, and I really do think that Wimbledon might just be his this year.
But for now Andy will be taking time out from the tour (I sound like his biographer!) as he will prep for the American hard court swing coming up, starting with the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, which for many is considered the 5th grand slam (it also has seven rounds, as does the Sony Ericsson Open). Andy hasn't done very well there in the last few years as he has gone out in his first match the last two years running, and he has said in the press that he is determined to do better this year, in order to maintain his ranking and improve his points to keep up with Nole and Roger. And after winning his first major last year, Andy can now re-focus on the ATP tour events, in which he has had mixed success in, as he had always been so focused on trying to do well in the majors. However its not going to be easy for him to win the Masters titles this year with Novak Djokovic standing in his way, and with three straight defeats already to the Serb, Andy will need to work very hard to keep up with him, but I'm sure he will find a way.
And as for Novak, well he deserves a big congratulations for winning the title for a 4th time, and I think this is becoming his French open, as he has gained a real ownership of the Australian open in the last couple of years, and I'm sure he will continue to win a few more times before he retires. Novak also secured a piece of history by winnning it three times in a row in the Open era, which has never been done before. So that's six majors and counting, and he does have a bit more to go before he can reach Rafa or Roger's count, but I'm sure plenty more will follow in the forthcoming years. And his ongoing rivalry with Andy Murray continues to excite and fascinate so it will be very intruiging to see where it goes from here. And next up for Nole is the Davis cup later this week as he will play for Serbia, along with his compatriots possibly in hope that they can once again win the title for their country, which is still a tough task but with the World No.1 on their side they have a good chance.
Right so that's it for now, the Australian open has come to an end for another year, and it was a really entertaining tournament, although it wasn't one of the best that we have seen from Melbourne, as last year's was for more enthralling, but it definitely had its moments.
So more tennis posts will follow fairly soon, although I will probably cover morely the WTA Premier/Premier 5/Premier Mandatory events, and the ATP 500 and 1000 Masters events up until the next slam, the French open in May. And no doubt there is plenty of exciting tennis ahead of us in 2013.
Until the next post, bye for now.
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