==========================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo
I know, there have been two El Clásico matches between January 18 and today already via the two-leg quarter-final tie in the battle for the Copa del Rey. Both meetings featured "big dramas" the way Clásicos are usually "staged", and as we have come to expect now in these clashes between the two Spanish League giants, Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona. While Barça emerged victorious once again on aggregate score - the first leg, their 8th victory in 13 most recent Clásicos, where four ended in a draw (including the second leg of this tie) and only one won by Los Blancos - I also understand that Madridistas have finally seen something to hinge their hope upon in the way Los Blancos bonded like a 'real' team on the pitch in the second leg of the tie - a ray of hope to topple Barça in the next Clásicos. Good for them... and, uhm, ahem, good luck to them, too - just because they surely need it! :) Visca el Barça!
Yep, exciting things... and yet, there was a road block huge enough to prevent me from dropping by here to savor the excitement... work, what else? And health... to some extent. Oh, well....
But we'll tackle football later... right now, let's talk tennis, specifically, Aussie Open - before it closes!
***
The "Big 4" in men's tennis are the biggest
See, this is what I like about Men's tennis: the rankings make sense. It was an exciting Round of 16 and even exciting quarterfinals... but, in the final analysis, the Top 4 men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray, end up squaring off to win the two final slots in the battle for the first major silverware of the season.
I've gotta admit though I only saw Roger Federer's run to get to the "last four" in the men's singles live. I pretty much skipped the rest... 'cause there's work. Man, I've never been this jealous of sports writers before - I want their life! *sigh*
***
Federer can now put 2009 US Open to rest....
And so, one of the most awaited quarterfinal matches was played by Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro. And by
Roger Federer serving up "revenge" to his
2009 US Open conqueror, Juan Martin del Potro.the look in Federer's eyes, it was 2009 US Open all over again! The Swiss Maestro was even wearing red shirt, too, like he did in the Arthur Ashe Arena where they last met for the 2009 US Open final. But will their match at the Rod Laver Arena end the same way it did in New York? Everyone was dying to know. Therefore, game on!
First set, was going on Federer's way. And then at 2-4 for Federer, 30-30, on JMP's serve... JMP chased a Federer lob to the back court, barely getting there... and did a tweener - cute. But it was punished by Fed with an overhead smash - breakpoint for Federer! JMP somehow managed to hold. And then Fed went on to win an easy service game... and eventually, the set.
Second set, 1-2 for Federer, on JMP's serve, the Argentine's body language was not very encouraging... and Federer took advantage, kept pressing... the intensity in every Federer shot was apparent, with the Swiss steel focus radiating in his eyes - intimidating... even for diehard fans like myself. And then, JMP seemed to have resurrected his game in the face of a looming defeat. At 3-5 for Federer, 30-40, on Fed's serve, JMP returned a shot long, for which Fed let out an intense yell - deuce. Adrenalin pump!
Grace, precision, power - breathtaking beauty!Whew! "Let's go, Roger. Let's go," chanted the endearingly rowdy Aussie crowd! (Oh, gosh! How I wish Andy Murray would learn to have "fun" like an Aussie fan... then he'd know that winning a Grand Slam was not impossible - with his talents.) Yeah, I can just imagine how the ghosts of 2009 US Open were hovering around Federer's head... but he managed to shoo them away. And then, impossible-to-return overhead and a big serve later, Fed took the set. Aaaawww!
At that point, I was chanting, "Man, intensity, intensity - too much! Let up, let up!" Whew!
In the third set, at 2-4, 40-30 on JMP serve, Fed punished a weak attack from the Argentine in a mini rally, banging in a beautiful, beautiful winner, which JMP didn't even bother to return as he, too, seemed mesmerized - deuce. And then a big Federer shot zinged right before JMP's very eyes - an
...and "New York 2009" was finally laid to rest.awesome winner close to the sideline - breakpoint for the Maestro. JMP seemed to have lost his footing, still figuring out what was "hammering" him, and sent a Fed return of serve against the net: 2-5 for Federer.
A couple of minutes later, with Federer serving for the match, at 30-15, Fed sent a crosscourt winner in front of the stunned JMP... another big winner at the center of JMP's half of the court, and bang! Win! And Federer raised his arms to savor the victory. What a way to exact revenge against the talented young man who gave him his first defeat in six years in the final in New York in 2009... the Swiss Maestro seemed to have finally put a closure to that bitter defeat, and approached the post-match on-court interviewer giddy and giggly happy! Aaaawww! :)
And so, the Maestro went on to the semis in a straight-sets victory, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, on his 1000th career singles match... to face Rafael Nadal, who took care of an incredible Thomas Berdych challenge in a heated match in their own quarterfinal meeting, in what could be expected as another classic tennis in its brilliance and intensity! Oy!
***
Oh, and there's that nice fella from Japan...
So, if you were wondering why the #6 guy, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France was "missing" in the "last 8", it’s because someone edged him out – unexpectedly. Remember that guy who challenged Federer in Basel last year... the Japanese fella with a smiling face? Yeah, Kei Nishikori, seeded 24 in the Aussie Open this year... he outwitted Tsonga in their Round of 16 meeting. And, it was a rather enjoyable match, too....
After the players won two sets each - with lots of intensity... and smiles, in the fifth set, and at 4-2 for the
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Kei Noshikori...
intensity, smiles, brilliance - what fun!Japanese, on Nishikori's serve, just when everybody thought Tsonga was about to break back at 15-40, the Frenchman missed a shot... and then could not return Nishikori's next serve. Deuce. Whew! Nishikori then rushed to finish the game, 5-2.
Tsonga came back with a VERY strong service game - three aces and an unassailable one! They went 5-3. On Nishikori's serve, they went on a long tense rally, when Tsonga could not catch a Nishikori shot sent on the corner, 15-0. The Japanese then served up an unassailable ball... and then an ace, 40-0! The crowd erupted! Tsonga came back with a strong return of serve and a follow-up, 40-15! A long rally followed, I was at the edge of my seat... and Tsonga ran out of gas. And so, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3... just like that and the young player with a winsome personality became the first Japanese to reach the quarter finals in the Australian Open in 80 years! Woohoo!
The Japanese went up against the #4 in the world, Andy Murray, in the quarterfinals. Oh, I saw the first set of Murray's Round of 16 match with Kushkushin... I fell asleep somewhere in the fifth game. :) OK, I was sleep-deprived waiting for the Lunar New Year the night before, so don't take it personally, AM fans... although, a more colorful AM outfit would've probably made my eyes more cooperative, I guess. :)
Alright, there's something big in my University in a couple of hours... I'll go and have fun with everyone. We'll talk tennis again later.
***
Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks.
