On Tennis: Nadal's finale in Melbourne brings Federer to tears
By RAVI UBHASPECIAL TO THE P-I
Three years ago Roger Federer wept in the arms of Rod Laver as he accepted the winner's trophy at the Australian Open. There were more tears this week Down Under, with the Swiss not too happy this time.
How could he be, after dropping yet another five-set thriller to nemesis Rafael Nadal? Federer must have thought he had Nadal right where he wanted him, given the bullish Spaniard spent more than five hours on court in his captivating semifinal against another Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco, two days earlier.
Nadal's 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2 win in 4 1/2 hours denied Federer the historic 14th Grand Slam and has to be an even bigger blow to the world No. 2 than last July's Wimbledon defeat that ended 9-7 in the fifth. Federer sobbed during the trophy presentation, Laver nearby, receiving consolation from none other than Nadal, who acted like a big brother.
"In the first moment you're disappointed, you're shocked, you're sad, then all of a sudden it overwhelms you," Federer said. "The problem is, you can't go in the locker room and take it easy and take a cold shower. You can't. It's the worst feeling."
The stars seemed aligned for Federer. He landed on the gentler side of the draw, avoided defending champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and had an extra day of rest between the semi and final.
But Nadal, not picked by many to win the title because of ongoing knee problems and Andy Murray's emergence, is a different specimen. He rallied from 4-2 down in the first set and thwarted all six break points in the third. Indeed, winning the third was the turning point. (Curiously, Federer actually won more points altogether, 174-173.)
Federer's serve always seems to malfunction against the scurrying Mallorcan, and it happened again: The first serve percentage stood at 51.
Federer felt he played a "terrible" fifth set -- Nadal didn't. Like at Wimbledon, Nadal protected his serve gamely in the decider, conceding a miserly three points.
It's now six Grand Slams for Nadal at the tender age of 22. He's a U.S. Open away from completing his Grand Slam collection.
He's the undisputed No. 1 and will be for a while.
SIZZLING SERENA: How dominant was Serena Williams in the women's final? Here are some stats that prove the point: Her unfortunate victim, the affable Dinara Safina, won only eight points the first set, and in the entire match, Safina triumphed on six points behind her own second serve.
The 6-0, 6-3 rout was so inevitable that journalists began wondering what the shortest finals in Grand Slam history were. Safina lasted 59 minutes, by the way, not close to any records.
The tennis gods were on Williams' side throughout the fortnight, too. Trailing rising star Victoria Azarenka by a set in the fourth round, the Belorussian quit in the middle of the second, succumbing to a virus. In the quarterfinals, the always-jittery Svetlana Kuznetsova couldn't finish Williams off, failing to serve out the encounter in the second set.
As usual, Williams picked up her game when it really mattered, steamrolling Elena Dementieva, the hottest player on the tour, in the semis before dispatching Safina.
After claiming the U.S. Open, a second Serena Slam is very much a possibility. Williams collected major No. 10, three more than older sister Venus.
"Well, I wanted to get to 10," Williams said.
Less important to Williams, she regained the No. 1 ranking from the disappointing Jelena Jankovic.
NOT AGAIN: Australian Open organizers had a tough fortnight. A riot broke out between rival fans, a streaker invaded a doubles match involving the Williams sisters, the extreme heat policy was called into question, and scheduling turned out be a major gripe, especially for Djokovic.
Officials blundered by making Djokovic's quarterfinal tilt with Andy Roddick an afternoon affair a round after the Serb finished extremely late. To boot, the pick of the day's matches usually features in the evening, and it didn't take a genius to figure out Federer's encounter against Argentinean Juan Martin Del Potro, which ended up being played at night, would be a dud. Djokovic and Roddick, meanwhile, had ample history following their ill-tempered meeting at the U.S. Open.
While he got shafted by the schedule, there's no excuse for Djokovic retiring -- again -- in a big match. He quit in the fourth set against Roddick, undone by the oppressive heat. Roddick didn't appear bothered by the 105-degree temperatures one bit.
A-ROD'S OZ: Roddick can't be disappointed with his exertions Down Under. He put away foes he should have -- and then got Federer. Federer reads Roddick's bullet serve well, and it's no contest when the two engage in baseline rallies.
Roddick trails Federer 16-2 in their head-to-heads, and to get a third victory he needs the latter to have one big off-day, as was the case in Miami last year.
Perhaps they'll meet in the first round of the Davis Cup world group in March, when the U.S. hosts Switzerland in Birmingham, Ala..
"Overall I think it was a good event," Roddick said. "There's a whole laundry list of positives."
SECOND SERVES: Out injured, Maria Sharapova dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since 2004. ... Federer advanced to his 18th Grand Slam final, one shy of Ivan Lendl's men's record.
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