Australian Open 2012 - Historic Match

Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open with 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5 against Rafael Nadal.in a match that lasted 5hr 53min. The breathless 32-stroke rally, at 5-4 in the final set drew a standing ovation from the crowd. Novak has spent 11 hours of past 54 hours in the court and everyone is amazed by his athletic performance and stamina.

The match didn’t have much heat in the opening set even though set it lasted long and the next two sets had been more or less one-way traffic. Then, in the fourth set, just when Nadal looked to be on his way home, the Spaniard pounced. From 3-4 and 0-40 down in that set, Nadal exploded into action. At one occasion, both looked very tired still played hard and neither of them were ready to give up the title. At two sets all and 4-4 and deuce, Djokovic won the last eight points of the set, the last four on Nadal's serve which helped him to seal the trophy.

Everyone could find extreme tiredness in his body and his eyes staring glassily into the distance. It was the face of a man who had exhausted all his inner reserves. But he should have been extremely satisfied as he had just delivered one of the greatest sporting performances of the age. Nadaal should be the most frustrated man at this point as his hard work went in vain. Still he should be proud of giving a strong opposition and for making this game as one of the immemorable for everyone.

Post match in the presentation ceremony, Novak expressed that he is playing against one of the greatest players ever. And also admitted that Nadal is mentally strong, and he always comes up with his best game and best shots at the right moments. But still when he was 4‑2 down, he pushed himself up to the limit. Hope everyone might have watched this match and for those who missed it, below is the match summary in detail.

Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal

Novak Djokovic has set himself at the top level players list with his splendid performance in this season. He sustained his stunning start to the season on by making it 32 wins out of 32 in 2011 and the latest is his 7-5 6-4 victory over home favorites and defensive winner Rafael Nadal at La Caja Magica in the Madrid Open final. This was Novak’s first win in 10 meetings with Rafael on clay and it was his sixth title of the year, three of which have seen him beat world number one Rafael in the final. It’s a known fact that Nadal has been the king of clay coat with 37-match winning streak on this surface. Novak considered Rafael as his most favourite and he added ‘ most likely because of my charming streak and because I`m in the shape of my lifetime and playing the best tennis of my career I am one of the favorites, but I think Rafael has only lost one match there in his career’.

Sania Mirza & Elena Vesnina in QF

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and her Russian collaborator Elena Vesnina entered into the quarter finals of the event at the Madrid Open. The unseeded Indo-Russian mixture recorded a 6-3 7-5 win over the Russian-Australian pair of Nadia Petrova and Anastasia Rodionova in the second round of the euro 3,500,000 soil court event. The match lasts for around one hour and 27 minutes. They rehabilitated all the three break chances that came their way in the first set and two of four in the second to record the win in.  Now they have a tough job at hand as they face second seeds Kveta Peschke of Czech Republic and Katarina Serbotnik of Slovania in the last-eight round.

Li Na fails to bloom in Australian Open

The grand Australia open has come to an end where the third seeded Belgian Kim Clijsters bagging her fourth grand slam title after defeating Li in the final.  Li Na from China, seeded ninth, had already surpassed expectations as she played exceptionally well though she does not have the experience of her opponent but was outclassed. Her home crowd reacted with sadness and disappointment after Li Na failed to win the Australian Open women's title on Saturday but said they were still proud she had managed to get as far as the final. If she had won the final, she would have become her country’s first grand slam singles champion. In an instant, Li Na has become a new national idol. She has made history for Chinese tennis, recast the record books of Asian tennis, and she can become the queen of this pursuit.

Kim Clijsters bags WTA Championships title

Kim Clijsters bagged her third WTA Championships title after defeating No. 1 ranking Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in OHA. Clijsters was sidelined due to an infected foot, played in her first tournament since winning the U.S. Open in September. Clijsters earned $1.4 million with the win and she said that it was a tough match and glad to win it. Also she added that she doesn’t how many more years she is going to keep doing this. This is her 40th career title after victories in Brisbane, Miami, and Cincinnati and at the U.S. Open this year. She became the fifth player in WTA history to win the tournament three or more times. She also backed Wozniacki by assuring that she’s young, she’s No. 1 and she will win a Grand Slam if she keeps on working the way that she has been working.

Serena Out of Upcoming Tournaments

The top-ranked women's player, Serena Williams will miss three tournaments leading to the U.S. Open, the WTA Tour as she needs surgery on her right foot after cutting it on a broken glass at a restaurant last week. Williams has withdrawn from tournaments in Istanbul, Cincinnati and Montreal. She said that she was as upset as she could not play in the upcoming events because of this foot surgery.  Her Washington Kastles team said she cut the bottom of her foot and needed stitches. On July 10, Williams attended the wedding of Denver Nuggets star in New York. In a wedding photo of Carmelo Anthony, she appeared with two bandages on the top of her right foot. Williams won her fourth Wimbledon crown and 13th major title in July. She lost in the French Open quarterfinals in June before capturing Wimbledon. The Rogers Cup in Montreal begins Aug. 16, and the U.S. Open starts Aug 30.

Federer makes a History

Roger Federer became tennis's greatest men's champion, watched by a legion of champions, as he beat Andy Roddick 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 16-14 in four hours and 16 minutes to claim his sixth Wimbledon crown. It was also a record 15th Grand Slam title for the Swiss master, overhauling the total of Pete Sampras who was in the Royal Box along with fellow legends Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver. It was a truly momentous climax to the 2009 Championships as the 27-year-old Swiss became the most successful man in the sport. Sampras, previous holder of that title, had been an unannounced surprise visitor to Wimbledon – where he has not been seen since 2002.

There were some aggressive actions by both the players in the game and no one ready to give up their game. So to the deciding set, with Federer threatening to strike early as he reached break point for the sixth time in the match, only to be frustrated again as the American pumped down his 20th ace at 138mph. With no tiebreak in the fifth set, this one had to be played out.This reached a climax as Federer faced two break points at 8-8, only to serve his way out of trouble and as the games ascended into double figures for each man the set became the longest fifth set in Wimbledon's history. Federer's ace count finally, it was Roddick who cracked in the 30th game of the set. Three mishap off the frame indicated he was fatigued and when Federer was offered the first Championship point he grabbed it eagerly, leaping into the air with joy as another Roddick mishap sailed long.

What a great match! Both players deserve to win the title. Federer needs to be more aggressive, especially in a grand slam finals. I think he was mostly pave in the match, waiting for his opponent to make a mistake. He was lucky he got out of this one. For Roddick, he played the greatest tennis of his life. He did almost everything right up, working up the points patiently and methodically up until the last few games. He should learn from this experience.Incredible Talent and Poise. Breathless tennis and unbelievable determination... Congratulations to Roger Federer and Andy Roddick.