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1/27/08 11:36 PM | David Cox
Where else could you see hordes of Swedes in Viking helmets and swimming trunks supporting the likes of Johansson, Soderling and Bjorkman and noisy groups of over-excitable Greeks never far from the centre of controversy. There’s also the tournament’s tendency for huge upsets and surprise finalists. The tennis world rolls rustily into Melbourne every January and no one quite knows which way the form-book will swing from day 1 onwards. Who could have predicted that the likes of Enqvist, Clement, Schuettler, Johansson, Baghdatis and Gonzalez would have somehow made their way through to Sunday’s final in past years.
Novak Djokovic was the last man standing this year and has deservedly taken the headlines in the past few days for the astonishing manner of his win over Federer and then becoming the first Serbian to win a slam. It has been an extraordinary 12 months for the 20 year old from Belgrade and finally there’s a new contender on the scene for the major titles.
However, this tournament was really all about 1 man, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He started the fortnight ranked 38 and having never made an ATP final, this time last year he was competing on the futures circuit, the 3rd tier of men’s tennis !! But, from day 1 the muscular Frenchman powered his way into the big time. It’s hard to remember the last time an unseeded player had such a sequence of wins in a slam - Murray, Gasquet, Youzhny and Nadal, no one really gave him much chance in any of those matches. Nadal hadn’t dropped a set before their semi-final and didn’t really do much wrong, yet the most intense competitor on tour had no answer to the stream of unreturnables which zipped past him. As of tomorrow, Tsonga will now be in the top 20 and certainly has the attributes to contend for more slams - a superb athlete, all-court game and the ability to hit winners from anywhere. There is little doubt he’ll soon be challenging for a place in an already overcrowded top 10.
The Aussie Open always gives rise to some quirky and dramatic off-court incidents and 2008 was no different. The first couple of days saw more controversy with rowdy Greek fans being given a dose of pepper-spray from rather over-zealous local police during Gonzalez-Economdis. The first week press conferences ranged from purring at Venus Williams’ backside (or “booty” for Serena) to political turmoil with the press unearthing a 2007 youtube video of Marcos Baghdatis celebrating with his supporters and demanding that the the Turkish population be ousted from Cyprus. Rather unwisely, Baghdatis refused to apologise causing outrage from the Turkish citizens of Melbourne who demanded that he be immediately thrown out of the tournament. Fortunately the incident was soon overshadowed by the on-court drama of the middle weekend.
This year’s tournament was certainly one of the best in recent year’s for 5 set thrillers and the Rod Laver crowd were treated to some memorable night sessions. Baghdatis and Safin set the ball rolling on day 4, with the 2005 champion and 2006 runner-up going toe-to-toe for 3 and a half hours with Baghdatis just about withstanding a fierce fightback from the giant Russian who typically took his frustration out on his rackets. The following day saw the titantic encounter between Kohlschreiber and Roddick. The German’s camp were confident of an upset pre-match given how passively Roddick has been playing from the baseline and that proved to be the case, Kohlschreiber playing the match of his life to edge it 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 6-7, 8-6 in a 4 hour epic which ended at 2am on Saturday morning. The shot-making from the German was simply awesome in the final 3 sets, a pumped-up Roddick was firing aces at will but as predicted by the Kohlschreiber camp, he could make little headway in the rallies. Despite 42 aces and saving 4 match points in the 5th, it was yet another early exit for the American in a slam. With Roddick showing few signs of returning to the form which made him world no 1 back in 2003, it remains to be seen how long his present coaching relationship with Jimmy Connors, will last.
The match which summed up the tournament at it’s best was the emotionally charged 3rd round classic between Hewitt and Baghdatis. Due to controversial scheduling the match didn’t start till nearly midnight but for 4 hours they kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. The tennis was rarely scintillating but it was drama filled and despite not finishing till nearly 5am, virtually a full crowd stayed to cheer Hewitt on to victory.
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Did you know that... Rainer Schuettler defeated Andreas Seppi in Kitzbühel 2004 after having saved 10 match points.
RafaNadalGirl20, Aug 29, 2008 7:35 PM
RickyDimon, Aug 29, 2008 3:08 PM
agf25agf, Aug 28, 2008 1:21 PM
cherylmurray, Aug 27, 2008 3:10 PM
BernieEliza, Aug 27, 2008 9:19 AM
DdV, Aug 30, 2008 12:40 AM
elle, Aug 29, 2008 7:27 PM
elle, Aug 29, 2008 7:25 PM
Did you know that... Arnaud Clement and Fabrice Santoro fought during 6 hours and 33 minutes in the longest match ever played, in French Open 2004.
RafaNadalGirl20, Aug 29, 2008 7:35 PM
RickyDimon, Aug 29, 2008 3:08 PM
agf25agf, Aug 28, 2008 1:21 PM
cherylmurray, Aug 27, 2008 3:10 PM
BernieEliza, Aug 27, 2008 9:19 AM
DdV, Aug 30, 2008 12:40 AM
elle, Aug 29, 2008 7:27 PM
elle, Aug 29, 2008 7:25 PM
