Reflections on the Final That Wasn't

I never realised before today how anticlimactic a Slam final without Federer can feel.

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I know I shouldn't complain about it. I love tennis outside of Federer, even if he really is the reason I got into it in the first place. As Erin frequently tells me, I am spoiled. Before now, Roger had been in the previous ten Slam finals. Which, you know, was nice. And he won eight of them. Which was, you know, nicer.

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Maybe it's good for tennis to have someone different in the final for a change. I'm pretty fixed in my position of not liking Djokovic, but he was always going to break through sometime, and really, when it comes down to it, I am glad it was here and not at Wimbledon. The Australian Open is important but Wimbledon really is the most important tournament of the year, from a sentimental perspective anyway.

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Normally, in a tennis final, I am on the edge of my seat. My heart is in my mouth, and with every ball that flies long or careens into the tape I wince; with every winner I clap. But this match left me cold, really. I like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and I like the way he plays, but I haven't seen enough of him yet to induct him into my hall of favourites. And we all know where I stand on Djokovic. So, yeah, I watched it, and yeah, I enjoyed it, but my heart wasn't in it. I was cheering for Tsonga, but let's just say I shed no tears over this match... which makes it the first Slam final I have not cried over since the US Open '05, which was before I really became a hardcore Federer fan.

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I make no pretences at being unbiased. If Roger Federer won every match he played in straight sets, that would be fine with me, though I'm sure the greater tennis world would find it boring. It was hard to see Novak Djokovic hoisting up the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, when it has such deep emotional connections for me - the Australian Open '06, the famous Open of the crying Roger, was when I fell in love with tennis. I am a tennis fan. But I am a fan because of Federer. I mean, sure, there are other players I like and like a lot - Tursunov, Safin, Moya, Gasquet, etc, etc - but when it comes down to it, it's all about Roger, really. I love what he brings to tennis. I love the way he plays tennis. And I love his attitude to tennis. 'You can never be bigger than the game,' he once said, 'and you have to remember that.'

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That's the mistake I make, I think. In many ways, for me, Federer is bigger than the game. Hell, he is the freaking game. Basically, he is my hero, and it is very difficult for me to see my hero not at the top of his game.

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So, for a blog that's supposed to be about tennis in general, I talk an awful lot about Federer, hey?

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This was meant to be a blog purely for the Australian tennis summer, which would make this the last post. However, thirty-odd posts in, I still have a lot to say (probably because I've spent most of my time writing about what a great guy Roger Federer is instead of, you know, actual tennis.) I'm not going to write it daily any more - mainly because I have no way of watching tennis now that the tour has moved onto the South American swing - but I'll write a weekly roundup of the week's tournaments... and see where that takes us!

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Next week is Vina del Mar, a claycourt IS event in Chile. The top seed is Fernando Gonzalez, but this tournament also marks the comeback of Guillermo Coria, former French Open finalist, so it could be very interesting! Also, Peter Luczak (Milkshake) is playing, so it'll be fun to see how he goes on clay!

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And also Roger isn't playing, so I might make some actual observations about tennis, which could be fun...

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Australian Open Results - Day #14

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Men's Draw

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Novak Djokovic def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7-2)

Penultimate

I don't actually have very much to say today, but I've been blogging every day of the Australian tennis summer, so I'm not going to stop two days from the finish line. If I didn't have a job, maybe I could blog about the women's final, but unfortunately, for those of us in retail, Saturday afternoon is money time.

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So surprise, surprise. Sharapova beat Ivanovic. Colour me stunned.

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I know Ivanovic was seeded higher than Sharapova, but there was no way Sharapova wasn't going to win that match. When you compare the form Sharapova is in - ain't just anyone can bagel Justine Henin - to the form Ivanovic was in - bageled by Hantuchova in the semis before coming back.... foregone conclusion, really. I thought Ivanovic won in the dress stakes, but in the tennis stakes, Sharapova, throughout the tournament, was playing lightyears better.

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I suppose I could talk about the men's final coming up tonight, but it's still a bit of a sore point for me. A final without Federer seems strange and unusual. All I can say is this: Jo-Wilfried, please, please, please pound Djokovic into the ground. Go Schwarzenegger on him again. Please. I mean, who does Djokovic think he is, saying that 'this is the Slam final everyone wanted to see?'

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I mean, sure. It's nice to see young players coming up. But this is certainly not the Slam final I wanted to see. I want to see Roger Federer make history.

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Well, I suppose I can't complain. By Roger's own admission, he didn't play his best tennis, even though he tried as hard as he could. But I'm just so sad for him. This year's chance at the Slam gone before it even began...

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But I'm trying to be optimistic about it. Maybe this will be good for Roger. It might lift some pressure off him coming into the French. Last year, he said he felt pressure in Indian Wells and Miami because expectation was so great. Maybe a little less expectation will be a good thing. And because he won't be trying for four Slams in a row at the French, maybe that will make it a bit easier as well.

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And maybe it will help him reevaluate a bit as well. I don't know what was up with him, but he didn't seem quite himself this tournament. He was a bit... well, stroppy, really. Somewhere between the Santoro match and the Tipsarevic match - I don't know if something happened, but it was like the off-switch got flicked and he wasn't quite all there. He has a break coming up now before the US hardcourt tournaments start. Maybe it will be good.

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Because I have no doubt - no doubt WHATSOEVER - that Roger Federer will come back, bigger and better than ever. Because that is who he is.

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Australian Open Results - Day 13

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Women's Draw

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Maria Sharapova def. Ana Ivanovic, 7-5 6-3

Tribute to a Fallen Hero

I am destroyed.

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I am sitting with my laptop on my lap as I write this, and I had to retype the previous sentence about seven times because I am shaking with sobs. I'm trying hard not to cry onto the keyboard, but I can't help it. I am destroyed. I am destroyed.

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Of all the people to lose to, why Djokovic? Why Novak Djokovic? When Federer loses to Nadal, it's hard to take, but Rafa is lovely, so I can come to terms with it in the end. When he loses to randoms like Volandri and Canas, it's hard, but I can get over it.

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But not Djokovic. Not Djokovic.

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Novak Djokovic rubs me up the wrong way. There's an arrogance about him that makes me grit my teeth. This was supposed to be a beating, like the fourth round of the Open last year, when Djokovic was shooting off his mouth and Federer put him in his place. I don't know what happened.

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Well, I do know what happened. Djokovic beat Federer, fair and square. There is no question that Djokovic was the better player tonight. I don't want to make excuses for Federer, since he never does for himself, but that was not the Federer of Grand Slams past out there. That was the Federer that has walked out to face Rafael Nadal in the final of Roland Garros for the past two years, the Federer with fear. Or at least so it seemed to me. Because Federer, even if he was trying his best (which he will undoubtedly say in his interviews) did not play his best out there. He was inhibited, playing within himself, letting Djokovic pin him to the baseline, rarely coming in, not mixing it up, and worst of all (for him) his forehand, the best shot ever in men's tennis, failed him. He made a ridiculous amount of unforced errors compared to his usual. And he was not Federer the frontrunner. When he was frontrunning, he dropped back. He... wasn't there.

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Or maybe he was. But he... this was Roger, but it was not the normal Roger.

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I noted a while back that he was over-vocalising in some of his matches, against Blake especially. He was almost under-vocalising in this one. For the first two and a half sets, he was silent. And Djokovic played crazy-good. He's really been the form player in this tournament - even though I dislike him immensely, I cannot deny it - and he came out all guns blazing. Much as I hate him, I have to say it: Djokovic deserved to win this match.

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Though that doesn't mean I won't be gunning for Tsonga with every inch of my being come Sunday night. Or that I'll stop crying anytime soon.

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It's easy to hitch yourself to a star. To pick a player and follow them because they win, and so you're rarely disappointed. To be, essentially, a fairweather fan. I'm sure, through no fault of his own, Roger has lost a fan or two tonight. Likewise, I'm sure Djokovic has gained some. Everyone loses sometimes. Everyone wins sometimes. And I'm sure this isn't the beginning of some massive downward slump for Federer or anything like that. Djokovic or no, he is still the greatest player in history. He has won twelve Slam titles and countless other accolades, and no one can take that away.

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But watching Federer lose brings back into sharp focus, for me, why I admire him so much. It is not because he wins, but because he is such a great ambassador for the sport. Watching him play - though not tonight, obviously - is like watching poetry in motion. But that is not why he is so wonderful.

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Can you imagine a better man to be a spokesperson for tennis - or, indeed, anything? He is charming, clever, a polyglot, and above all, really, really nice. This is a man who represents sportsmanship in its purest forms: he never denigrates an opponent, whether he wins or loses. He will never take away an opponent's triumph. He resists his beatification as a virtual tennis saint. He is, by his own admission, 'just Roger' and what he brings is 'all he's got.' He is humble. He is real. And yes, I love it when he wins, and it destroys me when he doesn't. But that doesn't change anything.

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This man is still the greatest tennis player to have ever played. And, more importantly, he is possibly the most wonderful man ever to pick up a racquet, in all aspects of his life. Win, lose, retire, that will never change. You can take a victory away from Federer, but nothing will ever take away what Federer is. He is the greatest. He is the most tremendous athlete of our age. He is the model to which all sportspeople should aspire. And moreover, he is an excellent example of humility and fair play - qualities which are relevant not only in tennis but in life.

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Erin suggested to me that I write an article about life lessons I have learned from Roger Federer. The first lesson? Winning isn't everything. And when you lose, you have to take it on the chin, and then move on.

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Djokovic will get his dues. And if he wins the Open, congratulations. But at this point in his career, he is not half the man Roger Federer is. And until he has proved to me that he has these qualities, this inner strength... Roger has still won.

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This is one fan Roger Federer has not lost, and will never lose, because he is, quite simply, a champion, on and off the court, in tennis and in life.

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Australian Open Results - Day 12

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Men's Draw

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Novak Djokovic def. Roger Federer, 7-5 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

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

Office Relationships

I'm a pretty avid Federer fan, and I consider myself pretty attuned to the way he plays his matches. So is it just me, or did he seem a bit... angry tonight?

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Maybe angry isn't the right word. Frustrated? Maybe just pissed off. He certainly seemed more annoyed than usual. I mean, it's not like he suddenly metamorphosed into Safin or anything like that. He just seemed a bit more... vocal than usual. He doesn't give a lot away, normally, but he was yelling and berating himself like no one's business. He does this in his matches anyway, but usually only once or twice a match. He was over-yelling. And he's normally so polite to officials. He was a bit snippy with one when HawkEye was taking its sweet time. 'How long is it gonna take?' he snapped. Not un-Roger, but not exactly Roger.

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Jim Courier raised a good point in the commentating, and I think it was corroborated by the post-match interview. Federer came into this tournament with his #1 ranking under threat. If he crashed out before the semis and Rafa won the Open, then he would lose the top spot. Now that he's through and beaten Blake, he's secure, but if he had lost against Tipsarevic... I don't even want to think about it.

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But there's so much added pressure on Federer. No wonder he's been playing a bit patchy. Last year, he won three Slams and the Masters Cup, got to the final in the fourth slam and won two Masters Series trophies, and still his #1 spot in under threat? Rafa had a great season, but he won one Slam and three Masters Series trophies, and was beaten in the semis at the Masters Cup. How does than even compare?

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Like Courier said, how does that seem fair? Roger apparently wasn't aware of it, and I can see how that would piss you off big time and put so much added pressure on you, especially as a surprise. In the interview, he asked Courier how much longer he'd secured the top spot for, and Courier said a few weeks, and Roger said he thought it'd be way longer than that. The #1 spot means so much to him especially with his record - I would love to see him take out Sampras's record of 286 weeks, particularly if he could do it consecutively!

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But I seriously don't get how that ranking system works. I mean, I get how it works, but how does that happen? One guy has this amazing year, and another has a pretty good year, but nowhere near as good, and yet the ranking is so close? I mean, it's not close... there's still a good thousand points between them, but because Roger can't gain any points because he's defending the title, and Rafa can because he lost in the quarters last year... It's Federer 7180 to Nadal 5780 at the moment. Federer's untouchable now he's in the semis... but how can one tournament close a gap that big?

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Because the gap is that big. That's one thing I hope Novak Djokovic realises. I really hope Federer issues a beatdown on him. Djokovic has been playing well - I can't deny it - but he really needs a thrashing!

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Speaking of Djokovic... what was with the sudden fatigue at the end of his match today? Because getting tired at the end of what was a pretty comprehensive straight sets victory... what is that? Djokovic is the only man to ever retire from a Wimbledon semi-final. His reason? Fatigue. Sure, on that occasion he'd had two long grinding five setters against Hewitt and Baghdatis, which he'd backed up on because of the rain. But since when is this an acceptable excuse for a tennis player? I'd hardly like to accuse the #3 player in the world of being unfit, but that is just not good enough. Wimbledon, sure. But today? Three sets. Three easy sets. And Ferrer was really not playing so well. If Djokovic pulls that against Federer, he'd get pounded into the ground.

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Djokovic has faced Nadal in two semis in Slams in his career, one of which was that Wimbledon semi where Djokovic retired. The other was at the French, and as if Nadal is going to lose there. I hope that, this year, they play in the semis of the US Open. Because I would love to see a balls to the wall five setter between those two. Not at the Australian Open, because that would mean it was the final and Federer MUST beat Djokovic - I won't have that upstart winning! - but at the US, or on some hardcourt. Anywhere. Because before Djokovic talks about tumbling Federer, I'd worry about Nadal. Just because he's a claycourt specialist doesn't mean you can leave him out of the equation.

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I'd be interested to know what Nadal and Djokovic think of each other as people. Federer is lovely, but I get the feeling he doesn't really like Novak, while he and Rafa get along fine. But Djokovic and Nadal are closer in age, and in points... if I were Rafa, I would get really annoyed at Djokovic basically overlooking me. I don't know how much Rafa lets this affect him - he and Novak don't have a common language, I think, so I don't know how well they understand each other. But surely he must know. I'm curious. Do they eyeball each other with loathing? Do they blank each other? Or do they say hi in the corridor and then do their own things?

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Or, hell, do they go out for dinner together and paint each others' toenails?

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I'd love to know what goes on behind the scenes with tennis players. Federer seems to be pretty well liked - he refers to some of his close friends on the tour being Tim Henman and Stefan Koubek in his blog from Tokyo 2006 - and Dmitry and Marat seem to have some friendship going on, and Carlos Moya and Rafa have their whole mentor thing, and then there's the matey deal with Rafa and Feliciano Lopez... but then you get the Sharapovas of this world. Does anyone else get the feeling that she hates everyone and everyone hates her? Like, she refuses to associate with them so she can hate them with impunity on court?

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It could be really unhealthy. This people basically travel together 11 months of the year, year in, year out. Surely they must have friends?

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I know they all have their girlfriends and teams or whatever - Roger travels with Mirka Vavrinec, his girlfriend, wherever he goes, for example - but surely they must make friends? I hope they do. It would be sad to think of their locker room, 128 players at the beginning of the tour, none of them speaking to each other.

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From what I've read, that's not the case. They're playing jokes and throwing tennis balls at each other and hiding each others' bags... well, Dmitry Tursunov does! But I hope they have recreation together as well. Jim Courier has asked both Roger and Rafa about playing videogames... they like playing tennis games and occasionally playing as each other (as in, Roger likes playing with the Rafa avatar and vice versa.) I'd like to think that, every once in a while, Roger and Rafa sit down to their video games together.

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Australian Open Results - Day 10

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. James Blake, 7-5 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Novak Djokovic def. David Ferrer, 6-0 6-3 7-5

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Women's Draw

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Ana Ivanovic def. Venus Williams, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4

Daniela Hantuchova def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-2 6-2

The Kitchen Revisited

I don't follow women's tennis anywhere near as closely as I follow men's tennis, but the two matches yesterday were profoundly interesting.

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Firstly, Jelena Jankovic vs. Serena Williams yesterday. That was a weird match. There is really no other way to describe it. It was just... strange. There were about eighty-four breaks of serve, and Serena just wasn't there. I'm not really a Williams fan, but as a tennis fan, it was concerning to see such a major player in the women's game playing so listlessly. I don't know if she was injured or if it was psychological or what, but she clearly wasn't all there. And even though Serena is a great player even when she's off the boil, I don't feel like Jankovic really played that well either. There's nothing I can put my finger on and say, well, obviously, that's where she fell down, but I think that, on the whole, Jelena can play much better than that. It was a weird match in that sense, I suppose... it was a quarter-final, and they were both in it, but it wasn't especially good, I suppose.

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On the contrary, that match between Henin and Sharapova was fabulous. I don't really like either of them, so I wasn't involved in it at all... I couldn't even decide who I was sort of going for. I was totally neutral. And the standard was very, very high! Henin, to tell the truth, probably did not play her best, but Sharapova was on fire. I can't say I was especially pleased with the way she conducted herself in her post-match interview - has anyone else noticed how she gives interviewers the brush off? It's kind of rude - but she played amazing tennis. She's everyone's new tip for the title now that Henin is gone... and I can see why! I'm liking a Sharapova/Ivanovic final this year, with a Sharapova victory. Actually, I'd like to see a Jankovic/Ivanovic final, but I don't think Jankovic will stand up to Sharapova if they both keep playing at their current standards.

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And the contest for this year's Marcos is over. I think it's become pretty clear that it's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. I don't know if he's captured the Australian imagination quite the way Marcos did - though considering Marcos had the entire Greek community on his side that would be pretty difficult - but he's definitely got the giant-killing downpat. Baghdatis, when he came through, knocked off Roddick, Ljubicic and Nalbandian. Tsonga has taken out Murray, Gasquet and Youzhny. Next up is Rafa. Roddick was the 2 seed back in '06 and Rafa is the 2 seed here, so can Tsonga do it?

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Only time will tell. But I think a lot of it is in Tsonga's head. Or his kitchen, as Roger Rasheed would say. (I thought the first time he brought out the kitchen metaphor it was a sort of verbal accident. But he said it again a few days ago, and my jaw dropped in awe at his stupidity.) It's like Ferrer. If he believes he can, he will. Rafa is a big giant to kill, but Tsonga's game is great - his footwork especially. If he comes out firing, then I think he'll do just fine. The first set is the key against Rafa, I feel. He's been down set points in at least two or three of his first sets thus far - including against Nieminen in the quarters - and got out of it every time, and then the opponent has sort of gone away. If Tsonga can get that first set... then we're in for a match, baby!

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Australian Open Results - Day 9

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Men's Draw

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Rafael Nadal def. Jarkko Nieminen, 7-5 6-3 6-1

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Mikhail Youzhny, 7-5 6-0 7-6 (8-6)

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Women's Draw

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Maria Sharapova def. Justine Henin, 6-4 6-0

Jelena Jankovic def. Serena Williams, 6-3 6-4

Psychic Tennis

For a change, I'm not going to talk about Roger's match today, and I'm going to talk about something different.

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Okay, that's a lie. I'm going to talk about Roger's match. But not exclusively. And that's a new and exciting step!

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Due to gainful employment, I didn't actually get to see it, but I was following the scores online. In retrospect, it was probably good for me to be following the match in an environment where I can't be too vocal about it - it kind of helps keep the stress under control. (Sort of... not entirely!) Also, there were periods where I couldn't check the score - because, being at work, I had to actually work - and when I came back, on the whole, Roger had broken and was ahead, or was at least on serve. I didn't have any nasty surprises!

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My psychic tennis skills kicked in a little bit - man, if I actually WAS psychic, I'm sure using my skills to hone in on what was going on in a tennis match would be a spectacular waste of them! - and I had a sinking feeling during the first part of the second set... but then it was overridden with calm, because I knew, I KNEW, that Roger would fix it. I think that might be more to do with the fact that he'd won the first set, and thus had a bit of leeway... if he'd been a set and a break down, I would have panicked, psychic skills or no psychic skills! Though it was kind of weird, during the second set breaker... even when Berdych was 3-0, 3-1 ahead, and later, when he had set points, I knew Roger was going to win. I just knew.

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So I'm starting to freak myself out a bit here. But maybe it's because I've matched so many Roger matches that I sort of get the pattern of them, if that makes sense... I don't think I want to lay claim to any sort of paranormal power!

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But a match that I did see and would like to devote some space to was the match between Novak Djokovic and Lleyton Hewitt.

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If we had seen the Djokovic of today playing against the Hewitt of his heyday, 2000-01, I think this would have been a really, really interesting match. As it was, it was pretty interesting. I don't know about the game, necessarily, but I think Hewitt certainly has the temperament to unsettle Djokovic. He's like a terrier. One of the things the Australian media always says about Hewitt is that he's a fighter, and I think it's certainly true. Much as I think he could use a personality transplant off the court, his doggedness on court is certainly an asset.

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So if we'd seen that Hewitt of 2000-01, a Hewitt who'd been able to consolidate and cement those breaks of serve he had in the first two sets, I think this would have been a fabulous, fabulous match - and I think Hewitt would have come out on top.

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Certainly Hewitt provided a sterner test for Djokovic than he's had in his first few rounds. I was gunning for Tursunov to get through - if he had, he would have met Djokovic in the third round, and that would have been very interesting - but alas, it was not to be. It will be really interesting to see how Djokovic fares in the quarters. He's playing Ferrer, who took out Ferrero in four sets. (It looked like a really good match from the stats - I wish they had shown it!) Now, Ferrer had a great year last year - a real breakthrough year, if you ask me. And in that year, Ferrer and Djokovic met four times.

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The result? They split it. Two each.

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They only met once in a Grand Slam - at the US Open, in the semis, where Djokovic won in straight sets. But at their last meeting, at the Tennis Masters Cup, Ferrer won in straight sets, 6-4 6-4.

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Now, in Djokovic's defence, he had a spectacularly awful tournament there. He lost to everyone. I think it's pretty safe to say he played too much tennis in 2007 and he was buggered by the time the Masters came around. But still, that doesnt take away from the significance of the match for Ferrer. Mentally, that should be a huge boost.

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Confidence, for Ferrer, is really the issue, I feel. I haven't seen a great deal of his matches - he's never really made a huge impact at the Australian Open or at Wimbledon, which is basically the extent of the Australian television coverage - but, hey! maybe it's my psychic tennis skills kicking in again. Who knows? This guy once described himself as the worst top 100 player in history. He doesn't strike me as having that Djokovic/Tipsarevic brand of fearlessness. But when facing a higher-ranked player, he cannot be afraid. That is tennis suicide.

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I think Ferrer can win - and win easily - if he is not afraid. Federer once said, 'A man who wins is a man who believes he can,' and David could do worse than to take that advice!

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So vamos, David! I would love to see him continue his great run. He made it to the semis of the US Open and the final of the Masters Cup - it'd be great to see him go through to the semis here. (There, of course, he will have to stop, due to extreme Federer presence, but I'd like to see him there!) And God, I want someone to put Djokovic in his place - or at least give him a scare. I appreciate that's he's a great tennis player, but he's just so... arrogant about it. I was so glad when he got that time violation warning last night. Nadal used to be just as bad in that area - sometimes he still is. Tennis should be about tennis, not about using the situations to your advantage. Like all those pretend injuries Djokovic has. That's not on. And if Federer comes out and says something negative about someone else - like he did about Djokovic and his injuries - then you know it's serious, because he hardly ever does anything like that.

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But if Djokovic does get through to the semis... I hope Roger doesn't just beat him. I hope he spanks him, and spanks him good. Djokovic could be this year what Roddick was last year. Roddick's team were all like, 'yes, well, we're a huge threat,' and then Federer totally demolished him in that semi. So if Djokovic gets through, with all his big talking... I hope Roger flattens him like he did Roddick!

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Australian Open Results - Day 8

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Tomas Berdych, 6-4 7-6 (9-7) 6-3

Novak Djokovic def. Lleyton Hewitt, 7-5 6-3 6-3

David Ferrer def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-1

James Blake def. Marin Cilic, 6-3 6-4 6-4

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Womens Draw

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Venus Williams def. Marta Domachowska, 6-4 6-4

Ana Ivanovic def. Caroline Wozniacki, 6-1 7-6 (7-2)

Daniela Hantuchova def. Maria Kirilenko, 1-6 6-4 6-4

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Nadia Petrova, 1-6 7-5 6-0