Rrrrrrright well this is the last part of my posts on the 2014 Australian open which will cover the men's final so let's gear up and have a look.....
So the men's final was a rather surprising line up as for starters the defending champion Novak Djokovic had been put out, Andy Murray was also defeated by Roger Federer, and Roger himself went on to lose to Rafa. So this set up a final between Rafa and the Swiss No.2, Stanislas Wawrinka who had reached his first major final. And with Rafa having effectively dispatched Stan's compatriot, Roger Federer in straight sets, Rafa went into the final as the overwhelming favourite against Stan, who had never even won a set against him never mind a match.
However that all changed in this match as Stan came out firing on all cylinders and apparently unfazed by nerves of his first grand slam final he put in a superb serving performance and broke Rafa to go on and win his first ever set against the Spaniard. And in the second set things took a dramatic turn as Rafa at one point grimaced in pain as he reached for a shot that he missed as he started to feel his back strain. As the second set went on Rafa took a medical timeout for his back, which left Stan waiting on court a bit rattled because he didn't know what was up with Rafa and demanded the umpire to find out. After Rafa came back there was a chorus of boos for the former champion as they suspected Rafa might have been playing a bit of gamesmanship. However that proved to be far from the case as Rafa continued to struggle with his back as he rolled his serves in as low as about 110 kmh and at one point even looked on the verge of tears, with Stan in full control he broke Rafa twice to take a two set lead. In the 3rd set however things shifted as Rafa started to feel the effects of anti-inflammatories that he had taken and he raised level to break Stan for the first time and eventually he took the 3rd set. In the 4th set there was now the danger of a real comeback from Rafa, however it was soon neturalised by Stan against who broke Rafa once, only to surrender the break, but right after he broke again to go 5-3 and on the first time of asking he served out the match to secure his first ever grand slam title with a dramatic 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
Well I'm sure this wasn't the result most people, and myself included, would have expected especially as Rafa looked to be in top form against Roger in the semi finals and given his emphatic head to head over Stan with no losses. And although Rafa had trouble with a blister on his hand in his last few matches there appeared to be no problems with his back, so it was a surprise when it happened. And it was difficult to watch Rafa as he was in pain and he became quite emotional as the match went on and there were times in the match where Rafa looked certain to retire. But it was actually great credit to Rafa and his fighting qualities that he didn't retire from the match and that he even attempted to try and get back into it before he fell to an inspired Stan. And after the match we also saw how upset Rafa was and how he was trying to fight back the tears and we saw that he was starting to break down as he walked off the court and into the corridors toward the locker room. But hopefully Rafa will be able to bounce back soon and let's hope that his back injury isn't a serious one like Andy's was.
As for Stan well this is a terrific victory and yeah ok he played an injured Rafa who was below par, but right from the start he played the best tennis of his career in that first set alone and in that fortnight he proved himself to be worthy of a major title, especially after he beat Djokovic in the quarter finals, it showed he really had arrived as a player. And another thing Stan deserves credit for is how he dealt with Rafa's injury in that match as at one point he got ratty with the umpire after Rafa walked off court, and for a set he was distracted by what was going on with the Spaniard. But Stan went on to then regroup and put it behind him and on the first time of asking he held his nerve and serve to close out and win his first grand slam championship. And it was also good that Stan had to win the match rather than take the title on a retiral from Rafa but thankfully this wasn't the case and Rafa is no quitter that's for sure. Also with this win, Stan will rise in the rankings to the World No.3 on Monday and he has now proven beyond a doubt that he is a big threat to the "big four" especially as he is now officially one of them! Stan is also the first player since 2009 to have won a slam outwith the big four since Juan Martin Del Potro at the US Open, which is in itself remarkable. And there's almost a nice symmetry about the fact that the Australian open was the tournament which announced Stan to the world as a top player a year ago when he had that epic match with Nole, that he would go on to win that tournament this year. And I also think that Stan can go on and win more major titles as well and with the French open coming up next in May, who is to say how he could do there, and just maybe he could also be the man to upset Rafa's apple cart at Roland Garros. But we can leave that for another time.
Right so that's it for my posts on the 2014 Australian Open and it just remains for me to say a big congratulations to Li Na and Stan Wawrinka for both winning their maiden Australian open singles titles and it bodes for an interesting and exciting season of tennis ahead.
And with that I shall see you later.
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