Demolition Man

Okay, so I'm actively afraid of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

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I have never seen anyone who could dismantle Rafael Nadal like that. I mean, sure, hard courts aren't Rafa's favourite surface, but you don't get to be the most dominant #2 in world tennis history just by being awesome on clay. Jo-W DESTROYED Rafa. It was almost painful to watch. From a Federite standpoint, I suppose I'm supposed to dislike Rafa, given as he's a threat and all, with the whole French Open deal, but I'm quite fond of him, really. He seems like a nice boy. And now that Federer's secured the #1 ranking, I can be fond of him with impunity. During that Tsonga match, I wanted nothing so much as to go and give him a hug.

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Who would have believed that Tsonga could come out of the blue like that? I heard about his demolition of Hewitt in Adelaide, but the only match I saw him play was his semi-final against Nieminen, and he was very flat and listless. I haven't seen too many of his matches at the Open - last night against Nadal, the Youzhny match and a bit of the Gasquet match - but he seems like a different player.

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If he keeps playing like this, he'll be in the top 5 in a few weeks, knocking on Djokovic's door. But the question is - can he keep it up?

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The Australian Open is notorious for the random finalist, who often does not go on on to make another Slam final. In previous years, we've had Baghdatis, Gonzalez. Before that Johansson, Clement, Schuettler. If you look at these finalists, only Johansson actually won... in the past two years, people have run up against Federer - which will hopefully happen this year as well! But I think Tsonga is the random with the best game we've had in a long time!

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So what will happen in the final with Tsonga? Will he tank like he did against Nieminen in Adelaide? Or will he play like he did against Rafa?

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And where the hell has Tsonga BEEN? I've heard his name here and there - I remember that breaker in the Open last year against Roddick, which he won 20-18 - but he's never really made a mark. This is his first ATP final. He's never been further than the semis. The same thing happened with Baghdatis a few years back. He'd never done anything... and then he was demolishing people, left right and centre, including the #2 seed. He was ranked fifty-something. Tsonga is thirty-something. One thing's for sure: the final will be an interesting match. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: this year's Marcos.

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And today's semi-final will be interesting as well! I don't want to say too much for fear of jinxing it, but oh! am I hoping that Roger lays the two-hoof beatdown on Djokovic!

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Australian Open Results - Day #11

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Men's Draw

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Rafael Nadal, 6-2 6-3 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Maria Sharapova def. Jelena Jankovic, 6-3 6-1

Ana Ivanovic def. Daniela Hantuchova, 0-6 6-3 6-4