Right time for a quick update on the Australian open remaining men's semi final on day 12 which was between two of the greatest players to have played the game, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. So let's have a quick look....
So this blockbuster clash promised to deliver loads as their last encounter in Melbourne was a tight four set scrap which saw Nadal come out on top again. But would Roger finally break that long losing streaking he has been suffering at the hands of Rafa????? Unfortunately the answer was no. And despite a tight first set where Roger threatened to attack Rafa's serve time and time again, it made no difference as Rafa proved to be just too strong in the key moments and saved any opportunities for break points on his own serve and he took the breaker against the Swiss. And from the second set onward Rafa was in full control and despite even having to deal with a nasty open sore from his burst blister on his hand, it still did nothing to take away from his superb level as he broke Roger, who made a rash of careless unforced errors, spraying balls long or wide. And after 2 hours and 24 minutes it was Rafa that made the move and forced Roger to make a few errors that brought up break points to end the match and seal Rafa's place in his 2nd Australian open final with a convincing 7-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory.
Well this wasn't quite the result I think most of us would have expected as I'm sure we were all expecting a real tight pitch battle between these two legends of the game. And despite Roger having Stefan Edberg on his side, it did nothing to help him find a solution to get past Rafa and it was clear that Roger was even losing patience as he complained to the umpire at one point about Rafa's grunting and the length of time he takes between points. And this to me appeared to smack of desparation from Roger and it has to be said that it also showed as a bit of poor sportsmanship and in the end Rafa was simply too good for his old rival. And from that point of view I think it will be very tough for Roger to find a way to get past Rafa in the future and I personally don't see him ever beat Rafa in a grand slam again.
But regardless of that though Roger can at least take solace from the Australian Open in that he has managed to make the semi finals yet again for 11th year running and despite his loss to Rafa it shows that his form has much improved from last year. And given that form so far, Roger can probably use that to ensure that he can win more titles this year and come Wimbledon time if he maintains that level and he has a favourable draw, he will post a big threat to the rest of the field when we get there, but we can save that for another time.
As for Rafa well this match showed once again his imperious form of 2013 had not left him and that he remains firmly on course to win his 14th grand slam title and second title in Melbourne. And by doing this Rafa will equal Pete Sampras's record of 14 slams and not only that he will become only one of three men to have won all grand slam titles more than once. So the history books will promise to be re-written yet again tomorrow as Rafa will go for more major silverware down under.
Which brings me onto my thoughts looking ahead to the final with Rafa taking on Stanislas Wawrinka who will play in his first grand slam final. And this all begs the question: who will win the Australian open?????? Well if you wan't the short answer its Rafa, if you wan't the long version, its still Rafa, and that's it! Well OK I will go into a bit more than that.... well on one hand its easy to call because Rafa is the overwhelming favourite to win as he has never lost to Stan and not only that he has NEVER dropped a set against him either. And on that basis it does not bode well for Stan Wawrinka. However Stan right now is playing the best tennis of his career and even if he loses the final his ranking will shoot up to a new career high of World No.5, which will also see him overtake Federer in the rankings.
So while it will be exceptionally difficult for Stan to beat Rafa, its not entirely impossible either and their last two matches have been pretty close, especially at the o2 in London where Stan pushed Rafa to two tiebreak sets, which he lost, but the level of play in those matches were pretty high and Stan had quite a few opportunities against Rafa, so sooner or later he has to try and take them. So basically for me if Stan is to have a chance of beating Rafa he simply has to go out and play the match of his life and above all play very aggressively and serve well. But the trouble for Stan with Rafa also is his single hand backhand plays well into Rafa's forehand as the high bounce of the single hand backhand favours Rafa's racquet as he generates so much topspin on his shots, which means he can attack Stan's best shot alot more than anyone else can manage (and Roger's as well for that matter). And if Rafa draws Stan into long rallies then there will be really only one winner and that is where Rafa will grind his opponent down. So all in all for Stan its going to be a pretty daunting task ahead of him in order to claim his first major title.
Sooooooooo to sum up my prediction for the final tomorrow I think it will be Rafa in straight sets, but I think it will potentially be a tight contest regardless and I'm sure Stan can push Rafa quite hard. And just perhaps Stan can take his first set off Rafa and turn the match into a real contest, but beyond that I still can't see him win it, even though it would be great if he could. But for me the Spaniard remains the firm favourite to win the title and win it I think he shall, but we will just have to wait and see, so while I'm thinking it could go to four sets I think will be over in three.
Right so that's it for now more will follow on the ladies and the men's singles finals, and in the meantime all the best to you Stan in your first major final.
Until then bye for now!
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