Check out some memorable quotes and links to the interviews from the Australian Open.
Federer FINAL
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/interviews/2009-02-01/200902011233411537875.html
Nadal FINAL
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/interviews/2009-02-01/200902011233415660437.html
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/interviews/2009-02-01/200902011233468139906.htm
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/interviews/2009-02-01/200902011233474903000.html
WOW. Need we say more? The men’s final once again proved to be the most interesting rivalry today of any sport out there. Even if you’re the most dedicated Nadal fan, admit it you cried! Nadal, a super talented all court, all surface fitness machine with now 6 Slams vs. Federer, the all court, 13 Grand Slams behind the belt with every shot in the book, cool factor. Another great final between two masters of the game! The two fierce competitors that always seem to rise to the occasion. Despite Nadal’s record breaking 5 hour semi final with Verdasco that must have spent him of energy vs. Federer’s 3 set breeze past Roddick; despite Nadal’s overall winning record over Federer vs. Federer’s lead on surfaces other than clay over Nadal, we can assume that Nadal probably felt less pressure going into this match. For those who watched the heartbreaking battle that took place during the
On the women’s side, fans may be a little disappointed. Paying 200 some dollars to attend the final, just to see one end of the see saw hang up in the sky the whole hour or so. Serena proved herself to be the unbeatable force to be reckoned with, a force that has had its presence for a decade now. Back to #1, with no contender in sight. Serena walked out on the court, looked like she had a game plan, played so aggressively it seemed like her baseline was on the service line and broke Dinara Safina into an array of unforced errors and double faults. Experience, confidence, all of the above. Why are women’s finals so lopsided? Why are three set finals so rare? This brings us to another question. Is equal pay for women’s tennis today, really equal play? Maybe that is poorly worded, seeing as play is not equal in the sense that Serena can’t beat the #5 FSU men’s tennis player. But in the sense of competitiveness, it doesn’t live up to equality. Nadal has to play almost ten hours of tennis to get through the semis and the finals and Serena wins the tournament with a total of about 16 hours of play. Fans turn up to see the final and the first set is over in 20 minutes. Maybe women should play three out of five sets. Its not like they have to play against men, but tennis may get a little more competitive in that case, perhaps that’s the way to get it more equal to men and more deserving of the same prize money. This is of course open to discussion and will find a strong opposition, but why not? Tickets cost a lot, the best of women’s tennis are clearly unbeatable on average, female tennis players are more fit than ever for today’s game styles and the WTA could try it out with one tournament at first and see how it goes. I think it would be an interesting idea.
Last but not least, nor less significant is the doubles recap. Siblings on both sides of the draw ended up sweeping doubles crowns. The Williams sisters beat Sugiyama and Hantuchova, while the Bryan Brothers continued to wreck havoc in doubles for yet another Australian Open title. Does this say something about siblings and doubles; can no one cover two sides of the same court better than blood relatives?
Kids retire for the wrong reasons sometimes. Some hate to lose so much they convince themselves they are unable to go on and retire. Others are really unwell and hate to lose so much, the more positive ones, walk side to side in hope of a miracle until they lose 6-0 in 15 minutes. Retirement should be monitored in kids. Pros would never retire because there is so much on the line for them, but they also care enough about their health and their full year jobs, to retire if they really can’t go on. Kids need to find that balance. Got an injury mid match? Playing on it will only make it worse? Retire! You don’t want to develop problems when you have years ahead of beating up your body. Feeling sick, be rational, no one needs a hero, but sometimes it is better to play through it. Don’t feel sorry for yourself, and you will see a clearer picture. Losing badly? All of a sudden an old injury is seemingly aching when you keep missing those forehands long? Try to slow down and figure out why you are playing the way you are and how to win more of the points that you win. Don’t give up. Its only going to break your character and your mental training and you will never be able to play up to your potential.
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