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by Philipina A. Marcelo
Oy, oy, oy! 2012 Aussie Open... Day 7 - already! Too many things, too little time... but let's make time for one match today... it's worth it!
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Men's Round of 16... Tomic vs. Federer - it's a thriller!
So, what did I tell ya? That Aussie teenager, Bernard Tomic, will be wow-ing tennis fans this year at Aussie Open, and therefore, it is worth it to pay attention to his matches... and he didn't disappoint!
In Wimbledon last year, he did a great job, reaching the quarter-finals in a duel with no less than Novak Djokovic, where the young Aussie was absolutely impressive. This year in the Aussie Open, he went to punish Spain's Fernando Verdasco when they collided in a five-set whoa!-inducing match in the first round, which he won, 4-6, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2, 7-5, in an incredibly sizzling performance. And then after putting away the American Sam Querrey in an exciting four-set victory on Day 3, he treated the audience yet again with another show of brilliance in his next appearance. On Day 5, he put every tennis fan who enjoyed adrenalin rush 'on a high' in a big, big, BIG match with an equally talented young man from Ukraine, the 13th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov. Tomic held on, and matched Dolgopolov's brilliant tennis down to the exciting finish with his own brand of brilliance - ground stroke por ground stroke, winner por winner - superb, super tennis from the two young men!
After four enthralling hours with Dolgopolov's knotted back getting in the way a bit, Melbourne saw the 38th seed Tomic emerging as winner, 4-6, 7-6 (0), 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-3. That set him up to a Round of 16 confrontation with his idol: the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer, who had his hands full with the big guy from Croatia, Ivo Karlovic, in their third round match but he went through nevertheless, 7-6 (6), 7-5, 6-3. It is easy to imagine how the Swiss 16-time Grand Slam winner, who admitted having thoroughly enjoyed the Tomic-Dolgopolov match, might have had his brows knitted together after watching the match, and asking himself, "hmmm... how do I get past this sizzling-hot talent? Whatever way, I'd get burnt a bit."
Here we go, Tomic up against Federer at the Rod Laver Arena....
In the first set, all is perfect for the 19-year old Tomic, he was holding his ground against the pushing Federer... and all, including myself, was wondering when will the Aussie teenager's guard fall to let Federer break. It didn't look like it was forthcoming - afterall, the Aussie boy was playing superbly against one of the very best the world has ever seen to play the game. And then, in the 9th game, at 4-4 and 30-30 on Tomic serve, the Aussie kid double faulted! Ah, pity! And then Federer mercilessly killed a Tomic shot to get
Bernard Tomic... the (near)future Superstar
of men's tennis!his long-awaited break! It was heart-breaking for the Aussies watching in the Rod Laver Arena, I can just imagine. And then Federer served beautifully to take the first set in about 35 minutes. Aaawww!
In the second set, Tomic returned with a vangeance! He opened with an awesome serve! But Federer was not about to yield easily, they went on a deuce... and then with a weak Federer backhand, which the Aussie killed ferociously, Tomic went up. Another deuce-Advantage Tomic swing before Tomic gained the upperhand - with a lot of help from the audience, too. At 1-1 and 40-40 on Tomic serve, Tomic kept pushing Federer to the far side... and then punished a reaching Federer backhand and went up - "Advantage Tomic"! The audience roared! But Federer came back right away without letting the audience and Tomic savor the sweet sound of the "Advantage Tomic" announcement... the Maestro came back with the prettiest of drop shots... aaaawwww! And then another one, even prettier this time - to go ahead of Tomic. Whew! Devastated and understandably so, too, Tomic sent a nice Federer return wide, letting Federer break once again, 1-2. The next game was a beautiful show of vintage Federer... until winning the game with an incredible pass that took everyone's breath away - too beautiful! Oy! :)
I don't think that the brilliant Aussie kid who murdered Fernando Verdasco in their fantastic first round meeting recovered yet from all the beauty that The Swiss Maestro was weaving around the blue court of the Rod Laver Arena... and before he realized it, he was broken once again, 1-4. In the 6th game, at 30-40 on Federer's serve... in a 27-shot rally, which was nicely played by
Roger Federer... too massive of a gate to
Superstardom to knockdown.both, Tomic committed an error... ow! But the Aussie fought back - hard - to level again... and break back, 2-4! Woot-woot!
On Tomic serve, at 30-30, Tomic finally unleashed an ace, against Federer's mountain of 8 aces. But Federer came back... to break, 2-5! Whew! Of course, experience dictated Federer's handling of the next game - short balls, big serves... and then he took the second set. Yep, you gotta feel for the young Aussie... I did.
The third set seemed like an "in the bag affair" for Federer... and then at 2-1 and 30-40 on Federer's serve, Tomic wowed with a fantastic cross court winner that sent many, including myself, on their feet to applaud! :) It was too beautiful, I don't think Federer would mind that I did either! Hahaha... yep, it was too good. But, after that, Federer took his game up a notch... and it was all downhill for the awesome Aussie. And with Federer playing like "that" - the way the biggest genius of the game should - I'm afraid Tomic had to gain a few more "big time" matches win under his belt to match the Federer brilliance and experience. But he'll get there... in fact, when Federer finally decides to hang his racquet up (not that I'm dreaming of it to be soon - definitely not), Tomic will be "my own number one"! Oy, oy, oy! :)
Anyway, Federer won the match to advance to the quarter-finals, where the big and hard-hitting guy from Argentina, the 2009 US Open Champ, Juan Martin del Potro, awaits him. Yes, JMP... he who gave Federer his first defeat in Flushing Meadows since 2003 in that hot-tempered five-set final match in New York! I, of course, love Federer, and hope that he gets past Lionel Messi's talented compatriot... but I also know that JMP is one capable of staging an upset. Oh, boy... it's going to be a nerve-wracking match, I'm sure!
Alright, here we go... the Aussie Open is beginning to hiss now, reaching its boiling point. Uhm, can I take a break from work... please??? (*wink*) Hehe...
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Photo credit: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks!
