No Williams Sisters in finals, no Bryan Brothers, no Justine Henin, no Nadal...and most jaw-dropping of all...where’s the unbeatable, untouchable, out of this world ROGER FEDERER?
After 13 days of extraordinary upsets and some intense matches, the finalists have been decided for the 2008 Australian Open. First on the women’s circuit, it will be an alluring Russia v. Serbia match between No.5 seed Maria Sharapova and No.4 seed Ana Ivanovic. That’s right, a certain Belgian didn’t make it; in fact, she got “owned” by Sharapova in the quarterfinal round, nor could that American defending champion from the 07 slam make in second in a row.
If you expected some repeats in the less watched doubles tennis, I’ve got stunning news too. The female pair that won it all this year? Not those Chinese, nor were they Cara Black and Liezel Huber, this year...a pair of unseeded Ukrainian sister, Alyona and Kateryna Bondarenko, took home the title. We’re just getting started on this chain of surprises.
So what about th
e men’s side then? The news in that camp were even more astonishing. In what is one of the most pleasant Cinderella stories in recent tennis history, a Muhammed Ali look-alike, who entered the tournament as an underdog, a long shot, an unseeded kid has plowed his way through the early rounds knocking off several “big boys” with that same Ali audacity and fearlessness. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France has been the story of late around Melbourne Park. The number 38 ranked 22 year old has improbably earned himself a place on the court in Rod Laver Arena in this year’s men’s finals.Alright then, the underdog story’s always nice…but he can’t stand a chance against “one of the game’s greatest of all time” in a skilled Swiss, can he? Wait…he won’t be facing that “skilled Swiss” ‘cause someone already delivered the knockout blow to that guy. What? Yes...Roger Federer, a finalist in the last 10 consecutive Grand Slams, has failed to advance to the AO championship match. This time, a blossoming star in a man they call “the Djoker” managed to oust the Fed Express!
The predictability of tennis has gotten so out of shape...which is a good thing by the way...that I’ve vowed, along with my co-host for HD Sports to never forecast the result of these tournees again. I love sports for its sheer ambiguity and no where else is this unpredictability more evident than at the 2008 Australian Open!
We’ve just been drilled with a hard to forget reminder that even the strongest will weaken at times and that perhaps is a sign that we should never indulge ourselves in blatantly expecting the obvious. The Bryan Brothers, the most well-known pair in doubles tennis were the No. 1 seeds who looked to have had this tournament locked up as well. What happened? Let’s just say they had to book their return flight a little bit earlier than expected. So as a shocked yet excited tennis world gets ready to witness some unlikely duels and strange combinations of opponents, no one knows what’s drama will unfold on Rod Laver, Vodafone and Margaret Court Arenas.
Hey, anything could happen...and whatever happens, this tournament will be fondly remembered for its weird turn of events. On second thought, the surprises pertinently complete a remarkable tournament which set records for remarkable attendance and remarkable time.
Like the Aussies would exclaim: “What a bloody awesome tournament it was!”
-D
**UPDATE: It’s just become official that Maria Sharapova has won the 2008 Australian Open Women’s Singles title. Looks like I missed the deadline by 5 minutes. Oops...if I were a real writer, I’d be at risk for being fired right now. Good thing I’m not. Anyway, entertaining match with Maria and Ana! Congrats to the former!!
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