Australian Open Final Words

Well, the fortnight in Melbourne has come and gone. Fantastic and appalling tennis was played (beauty is in the eye of the beholder) and new champions have been crowned. I have to say the finals of the singles events were not what I had expected going into the tournament, but in the end the players who deserved to win got the title. The doubles finals were every bit as exciting as (if not more so than) the singles as well. I have to say that after the disappointment of Justine Henin-Hardenne retiring in the women's singles final, the men's doubles final between Bob Bryan-Mike Bryan and Leander Paes-Martin Damm redeemed the night session.

I'm getting ahead of myself though. Let's first look at the women's doubles results. The women's doubles final on Friday was the first final to be played. Australia's Samantha Stosur and partner Lisa Raymond of the USA faced off against Chinese duo Zheng Jie and Yan Zi. From the Malaysian Star:

Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, who both won singles tournaments last year and were seeded 12th in the doubles at Melbourne, came from a set down and saved two match points in a second set tie-break before going on to win 2-6, 7-6, 6-3.

"We feel very excited and very happy," Yan Zi told reporters. "Little bit nervous. Because first time in the centre court. It's so big and so many people."

Yan Zi said the match, which was broadcast in China, would help strengthen the game there, although it was too early to tell if their win would have any impact on the Beijing Olympics.

"It will be good for Chinese tennis," Yan Zi said through an interpreter.

"In the near future, we think we could be better, make progress, improve a lot, and it can stimulate (tennis)."

Australia's Stosur and American Raymond had been seeking their second successive Grand Slam title after winning the US Open in New York last year.

[...]

China has been making big strides in women’s tennis in recent years, highlighted by Li Ting and Sun Tiantian’s victory in the women’s doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

They have also won three WTA singles titles in the past two seasons.

“There are so many Chinese girls now,” Raymond told a news conference.

That's what was said about the Russian girls a few years ago as well.

As Saturday dawned for the women's singles final, I found myself looking forward to a clash between two excellent one-handed backhands: Amelie Mauresmo versus Justine Henin-Hardenne. Instead, what I got was a tame first set where Henin-Hardenne was blown away by a determined Mauresmo. After a bathroom break before the start of the second set, Henin-Hardenne lost two successive games, then called the doctor. She played only one more point before approaching the net and shaking Mauresmo's hand to retire from the match.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Henin-Hardenne says a severe reaction from a nagging shoulder injury caused her to pull out.

The Belgian says she was nearly forced to call a doctor at 3am this morning because she was feeling so sick.

She believes anti-inflammatory tablets she takes for her shoulder pain may be the cause of her stomach illness.

"I'm feeling very disappointed to end the tournament this way," said the eighth-seeded Henin-Hardenne.

"I was feeling so sick and I couldn't stay any longer on the court."

The match lasted just 52 minutes.

It was the first time since 1966 that an Australian Open women's singles final had failed to go the distance.

On that occasion, Australian Margaret Smith beat American Nancy Richey by walkover.

Now, I'm fully aware of the media and fan backlash that surrounded this result. People have said that Henin-Hardenne denied Mauresmo the chance for a full-blown celebration after winning match point. I agree to that, but I disagree that Henin-Hardenne retired from the match on purpose to avoid a bagel or because she was being beaten already. Anyway, a win is a win whether it be by winning a matchpoint or through an opponent's retirement, and I'd rather a player retire than tank the rest of the match. Still, it was a lackluster final, and a short one, too.

The crowd stayed on for the men's doubles match to get the most out of their ticket to Rod Laver Arena, and from what I saw on my TV they got their money's worth anyway. Bob and Mike Bryan were in the Australian Open men's doubles final for the third time in a row but had never won it. This year, they faced Leander Paes and Martin Damm. From the outset it was a competitive match, with Paes and Damm performing a celebratory chest bump after breaking the Bryan twins' serve in the first set. After losing the first set, the twins battled back to level the match at one set apiece and then went on to win the decider. The stadium remained packed until the end of the match and ensuing award ceremony. After men's doubles seemed threatened with extinction last year, I think this match was a wake-up call to those who said doubles is boring.

From Slam! Sports Tennis:

"It's unbelievable. I had nothing left in my body by the end of that match," said Bob Bryan. "It was so emotional. There was a lot of energy there, they were doing chest bumps, we were doing chest bumps.

"We were down break points pretty much every game in the third. It was just pure relief and happiness and excitement at the end."

There was some animosity afterward, with Mike Bryan saying the brothers were unhappy to see Paes and Damm "steal" their chest-bump celebration, and Paes responding that the Bryans were "in diapers" when he and another partner, Mahesh Bhupathi, began performing the celebration in matches.

The Bryans, who have played together for 10 years, were contesting their fifth consecutive Grand Slam tournament final.

"It feels good to get this notch, the last two years we came up short," said Mike Bryan. "There's nothing more special than to win with your brother."

Mixed doubles the next day resulted in Martina Hingis winning a Grand Slam title with partner Mahesh Bhupathi against Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhovtseva. For someone who's only been back in the pro game for a month, Ms. Hingis has definitely achieved much, making the quarterfinal of the women's singles event as well.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Martina Hingis' comeback has only just begun, and already it has yielded something she never achieved in her previous nine years on the professional tennis tour - a mixed doubles title.

The former world No.1 today capped her return to grand slam tennis after more than three years by combining with Indian Mahesh Bhupathi to win the Australian Open mixed doubles final in Melbourne.

Hings and Bhupathi, wildcard entrants, beat Canadian Daniel Nestor and Russia's Elena Likhovtseva 6-3 6-3 in just 65 minutes.

While Hingis already had 40 singles titles and 36 women's doubles tournament victories to her credit - including three singles and four doubles at the Australian Open - she had never before even reached the final of any mixed doubles tournament.

It capped a great fortnight for the Swiss Miss, who admitted she had already exceeded her expectations by making the quarter-finals in the singles.

She said she had entered the mixed doubles with Bhupathi largely because she feared an early exit in the singles competition might leave her needing to fill in some time.

The Swiss definitely had a lot of celebrating to do after Sunday's finals. Roger Federer came through against Marcos Baghdatis in the men's final, as many had expected. However, no one expected the flood of tears Federer shed after being awarded the trophy by Rod Laver himself, winner of two career Grand Slams.

From Scotsman.com:

The world No1 was a prohibitive favourite but was made to battle hard before securing a 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2 win over his 20-year-old opponent.

[...]

Federer, a model of on-court composure, clawed his way back from losing the first set and trailing 2-0 in the second. But he was unable to contain his emotions when he received the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup from Australian Rod Laver, the last player to hold all four major titles simultaneously.

"I guess it's all coming out now," said Federer, with tears streaming down his cheeks. "I've had some hard speeches but this one is really tough."

Later, Federer explained that the magnitude of his latest achievement had been overwhelming. "It was a different type of grand slam victory, and I think that's why it was so emotional for me," he said. "I felt very nervous going into the match again. I was incredibly nervous, actually."

[...]

Federer eventually proved too good for the unseeded Baghdatis, but his defeat did nothing to dampen Cypriot pride.

All over the island, traditional Cypriot coffee shops and trendy cafes were packed. Each time Baghdatis won a point, wild cheering would break the silence.

In Baghdatis' home village of Paramytha (Greek for fairytale), shots were fired in the air and, once it was all over, neighbours and well-wishers headed for the besieged Baghdatis house to pass on their commiserations.

To his compatriots Baghdatis is a rare success story for a divided island dominated by partisan politics.

"He's a real fighter. We are so proud," said Andreas Stavrou, 28.

"He gave it all he had," added Christos Panayides, 50. "Roger Federer may have won the match but Marcos has won our hearts."

Maybe you know about my predilection for fairytale endings (I was disappointed when Andre Agassi's great run to the 2005 US Open final was ended when Federer beat him for the title), and I wanted Baghdatis to win this after beating four seeded opponents. However, the Cypriot had never before won a professional tour final and I knew that in the end Federer's experience and the lesser amount of hours spend on court through the earlier rounds would prove to be Baghdatis's master.

With this win, Federer now owns seven Grand Slam tournament titles; he's only got seven more to go if he wants to equal Pete Sampras's record. Mauresmo won her first major title, finally shrugging off the "Best Player Never to Win a Slam" title that's dogged her through the years. Martina Hingis, with the help of Mahesh Bhupathi, added her first Grand Slam mixed doubles title to her collection. Zheng Jie and Yan Zi became the first Chinese to win a Grand Slam title. Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan finally won an Australian Open doubles title.

History was made at this year's Australian Open. The players answered the tournament's challenge: bring it on.

posted by Noelle De Guzman @ 5:14 PM