Right, as the first major of the season is about to draw to a close, the Australian open in Melbourne, this post will take a look at the men's event so far (well the semis and the finals that is). So, let's see who has made it into the final four at Melbourne park.
MENS SEMI FINALS
Marin Cilic vs Kyle Edmund
First up was the semi final between the former US Open champion, Marin Cilic and a surprise first time grand slam semi finalist, Kyle Edmund, the British No.2, who had put in a great effort to reach the last four in Melbourne. Kyle had gained several impressive wins on his way to the semis as he defeated Kevin Anderson in the 1st round in 5 tough sets and then later went on to stun Grigor Dimitrov, the 3rd seed in the quarter finals in 4 sets. So, this saw Kyle within touching distance of reaching his first grand slam final but he would be up against the more experienced, Marin Cilic, a 2014 US Open champion and also Wimbledon finalist last year.
As for the match itself...well it went pretty much the way it you would have expected it to on paper as Cilic bossed Kyle right from the start of the match and he swiftly grabbed a double break to take the opening set. In the 2nd set however, it was more evenly contested as Kyle showed some good resistance and pushed the Croatian to a tiebreak but unfortunately he lose out in the breaker to go two sets to love down. And in the 3rd set, Kyle's conditioning and fitness started to let him down as he required a medical timeout for an apparent hip issue that let Cilic grab a double break once again and he sealed the match and his place in his first Australian open final with an impressive 6-2, 7-6, 6-2 victory.
Well, this match was always going to be in Cilic's favour as he was by far the more experienced player out of the two and it was no surprise in the end that he got through. However the match did promise to be fairly tight in the 2nd set as Kyle fought back but as the match went on and Kyle's fitness became an issue, it was clear that there would be only one winner. So, this is a very impressive victory for Cilic as he has now reached his 3rd grand slam final, having already won the 2014 US Open and being a finalist at Wimbledon last year.
As for Kyle Edmund, despite his loss, this was a terrific tournament for him as it really showed that once Andy Murray has hung his racquet, Kyle can confidently take over the mantle as the British No.1 (which he is only weeks away from becoming just given Andy being out recovering from hip surgery). Kyle has also shown that he is the very much the real deal as a fledgling top player and his ranking will be projected to shoot up as high 25 on Monday and there is little doubt that he can even climb higher as the year goes on.
Roger Federer vs Chung Hyeon
And the second semi final was between the GOAT and defending champion, Roger Federer and another surprise semi finalist, Chung Hyeon, young 21 year Korean player, who was the first man from his country to reach the semis of a major. And Chung came into this match having played exceptionally well and he even defeated his idol, Novak Djokovic in the 4th round enroute to this stage. Roger on the other hand had made serene progress so far going into the semis as he was yet to drop a set having comfortably beaten all the players before him. However, given Chung's hunger, defensive skills and athletic ability, this match had the potential to be a real danger for Roger to deal with.
However...the match itself was a real damp squib and it was very evident from the start that Roger was the master and Chung was very much the student, as he ruthlessly dismantled Chung's weak serve and he grabbed the opening set in just 34 minutes with a double break. In the 2nd set, it was more of the same from Roger but it became apparent very soon that Chung was carrying an injury as he took a timeout for a blister on his foot. However in the end, the injury proved too much for Chung to play through, so he admitted defeat to Rog in the 2nd set and retired, which saw the defending champion reach another final in Melbourne with a 6-1, 5-2 ret result.
Well, this was a real disappointing result as this match had some real potential to it had Chung been fully fit it could have been a very interesting contest. Unfortunately however, Chung's blistered foot proved too much for him to deal with and it prematurely ended what could have been a very fine match. Regardless of this though, Chung had put a valiant effort in getting himself into the semi finals and really showed his potential at the tournament and announced himself to the tennis world, especially after beating Djokovic, Chung is certainly a player audiences will watch out for.
THE MEN'S FINAL AND PREDICTION
So, this sets up the men's final between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic in what will be a rematch of last year's Wimbledon final, which saw an injured Cilic fall to Roger in straight sets, however this time hopefully we won't get the same result as Cilic appears fully fit. So, this time round hopefully we will get treated to a more even contest because Cilic certainly has the firepower to trouble Roger in a match as he proved in their epic Wimbledon quarter final two years ago and also when he demolished Roger at the US Open semis in 2014.
Soooo....this all begs the question....who will win??? Well, let's take a quick look at both players.
Well, so far Roger has been in sublime form throughout the tournament and is yet to drop a set going into this final, just like he did at Wimbledon last year also (which he went on to win without dropping a single set!). Roger's matches have also barely gone beyond 2 hours as he been able to cleanly and efficiently beat evey player he has come up against. So, on the basis of what we have seen so far in the tournament, it would be hard to argue with Roger being the favourite here to end his days as a teenager in terms of a grand slam trophy title number and reach number 20.
As for Cilic, well he has shown some great form in the tournament also, albeit not quite as impressive having dropped four sets enroute to the final but he still managed to grind down Rafael Nadal in the quarter finals, who was forced to retire from their match in the 5th set. Cilic also has proved that when he is on his game and when his serve is firing, there are very few players that can contend with him, as he is certainly capable of playing lights out tennis. And if Cilic is fully fit in the final then Roger knows he will need to watch out and that crushing defeat he suffered to Cilic at the US Open four years ago will still be prying on his mind.
As for my actual prediction as to who will win....well....I have to go with Roger here, simply based on the form he has shown in the tournament so far he has been outstanding and he comes into the AO this year fully fit, unlike last year where he still had a few physical niggles. Roger is also yet to drop a set and his tennis has been clinical and efficient as ever and his serving has been nigh impeccable, so Cilic would need to serve out of his mind to have any real chance against him. And its still scary to think that at the age of 36, Roger is still playing his best tennis and moving like he is only 25 years old!
So, I think Roger will be tested more this time round by Cilic than he was at Wimbledon last year, when Cilic was playing injured (and also had a blister on his foot like Chung did) and it should hopefully prove to be a more competitive match. Cilic also plays his best tennis on hard courts as well as grass courts, so the court here should suit his game but let's face it, it also suits Roger's too. And I think this match should go to four sets, especially if Cilic plays well, he will give Rog something to think about but in the end, I still think Roger will emerge the champion once again and successfully defend his title. So, I predict Rog will win in four and reach slam No.20.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with my look at the result of the ladies singles final, which was between Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki, the top two seeds who battled it out for their first grand slam and the No.1 ranking. So, I will cover the match, the result and also a review of how it went and how things might go for the two ladies in the future.
So, until the next one, that's all for now.
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