I Am A Big Fan of Rafael Nadal...
>> Sunday, February 01, 2009
...but I could not bring myself to celebrate fully his victory over Roger Federer in the Australian Open Men's Finals this year. It is indeed a victory, as Nadal is reportedly the first Spaniard ever to win the Aussie Open title. Moreover, all the odds were against him. His body is still physically aching from that five-hour semi-finals match with Fernando Verdasco, from which he only had a day to recover compared to Federer's two days.
However, I have never seen Federer break down like that. He was so tearful he could barely deliver his speech at the awarding ceremony. He was openly crying. Federer wanted this title, and he would want every Grand Slam title that would come his way from now, because he only needs one more to be able to match Pete Sampras' 14 Grand Slam record. But as long as Rafael Nadal is there to stand in his way, Federer will have a very hard time to grab that 14th. Rafael Nadal, who has defeated Federer in the French Open and Wimbledon last year, is deeply implanted in Federer's head. it will take a lot of work for Federer to get that psychological advantage that Nadal has over him out of his system.
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And still, Nadal deserved to win this year's Australian Open. He is indeed a champion, and I see him dominating the world of men's tennis for quite a while. Or at least men's tennis wouldn't be so boring, just as it had become for me when Andre Agassi retired. Continue reading...