There could not have been a better start for Rafa … It was as if everything was set for him... the final showdown against one of the greats in Men’s tennis circuit – Roger Federer, the most talked about rivalry, Federer’s quest for the 14th grandslam and a point to be proven. Gone are the days when Rafa was addressed as the King of Clay, he is now the Iron Man.
The Australian Open 2009 final is significant for its own reasons. It marked the arrival of Rafa on the hard court. He managed to win against Verdasco in the gruelling semi-final match that lasted for five hours 14 minutes to come back and claim the Aus’ open title in less than 48 hours. Nadal has spent 9 hours and 37 minutes on court in his final two matches. It is no mean task by any standards. Goran Ivanisevic was the last player to win back to back five set matches to win a Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2001 while Mats Wilander was the last player to accomplish this feat at the Australian open in 1988. Rafa is just a slam short of completing a career grand slam or should I say a golden career grand slam? He now needs to win the US Open title.
Now on his accomplishments…
He is the 2nd youngest player in the Open Era to have won 6 Grand Slam title at the age of 22 years and 7 months (the other player is Bjorn Borg at the age of 22 years 1 month)
He is the 3rd player at the age of 22 to win three of the four Grand Slam titles along with Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras. Federer had 2 titles at the age of 22.
Nadal has earned 2000 South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings points by winning the Aus' open and an almost assured berth in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals to be held at London’s O2 Arena in November.
Federer now has a win-loss record of 13-5 in Grand Slam finals, having lost to Nadal in 5 finals. Nadal holds a win-loss record of 13-6 against Federer overall.
Nothing to take away from Federer but it is time for him to go back to his drawing board and rethink his strategy. All the best Rafa!
The Australian Open 2009 final is significant for its own reasons. It marked the arrival of Rafa on the hard court. He managed to win against Verdasco in the gruelling semi-final match that lasted for five hours 14 minutes to come back and claim the Aus’ open title in less than 48 hours. Nadal has spent 9 hours and 37 minutes on court in his final two matches. It is no mean task by any standards. Goran Ivanisevic was the last player to win back to back five set matches to win a Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2001 while Mats Wilander was the last player to accomplish this feat at the Australian open in 1988. Rafa is just a slam short of completing a career grand slam or should I say a golden career grand slam? He now needs to win the US Open title.
Now on his accomplishments…
He is the 2nd youngest player in the Open Era to have won 6 Grand Slam title at the age of 22 years and 7 months (the other player is Bjorn Borg at the age of 22 years 1 month)
He is the 3rd player at the age of 22 to win three of the four Grand Slam titles along with Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras. Federer had 2 titles at the age of 22.
Nadal has earned 2000 South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings points by winning the Aus' open and an almost assured berth in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals to be held at London’s O2 Arena in November.
Federer now has a win-loss record of 13-5 in Grand Slam finals, having lost to Nadal in 5 finals. Nadal holds a win-loss record of 13-6 against Federer overall.
Nothing to take away from Federer but it is time for him to go back to his drawing board and rethink his strategy. All the best Rafa!
Image Source: Australianopen.com
No comments:
Post a Comment