This victory for Nadal keeps the Grand Slam record safe for now. Federer had a chance to tie Pete Sampras’s 14 Grand Slam title, but it just didn’t happen on Sunday.

Federer wanted this title so bad and he couldn’t hold back the tears saying, “Maybe I’ll try later. God, it’s killing me.” He came back to the microphone to congratulate Nadal and said, “You deserved it. You played a fantastic final.”

Nadal equally had something nice to say to Federer.

“Roger, sorry for today. I really know how you feel right now,” Nadal said. “Remember, you’re a great champion, you’re one of the best in history.”

After Nadal won, he laid down on his back and then got back up quickly to shake hands with Federer. The two walked off with their arms on each other’s shoulders. It’s great to see opponents who care about each other like this and treat one another with respect. It makes the sport that much more enjoyable for me.

To read a detailed report about the match, see Tennis.com.

Here are the highlights from the match, as well as a ton of pictures. Congratulations to Rafael Nadal!

Post from: EveryJoe

Rafael Nadal Wins 2009 Australian Open

Serena Williams

She took the match 6-0, 6-3 and is now ranked No. 1. and it only took her 60 minutes. Serena looked fantastic on the court, as opposed to Safina who seemed to be struggling. In the first game, Safina double faulted 3 times including on a break point.

After the match, Safina joked by saying,“I was just a ballboy on the court today”.

Not only does Serena take away the No. 1 ranking, but she was also awarded a AUD $2 million dollar check and Safina took home AUD $1 million.

Congratulations to Serena Williams! More pictures and a video clip below.

Source: Tennis.com

Image Credit: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Serena Completely Dominates Safina

It’s time to take a vote! Which man and woman do you believe will win the Grand Slam title at the 2009 Australian Open?

In the men’s corner, it’s Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. In the women’s corner it’s Serena Williams and Dinara Safina. Who’s going to come out on top? Give me your pick in the polls below!

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Post from: EveryJoe

Pick the Winners of the 2009 Australian Open

As mentioned here, retired tennis star Pete Sampras currently holds the record with 14 Grand Slam titles. On Saturday, January 31st, Roger Federer has the chance to tie that record. If Federer wins the 2009 Australian Open final, that will give him his 14 titles.

Sampras thinks that not only will Federer tie his record, but he’ll break it with as many as 18 or 19 titles.

“I really thought that 14 would be a number that would be very tough to tie and break,” Sampras tells the AP, “but Roger just came along and dominated the game much more than I ever did.”

Can you imagine 18 or 19 Grand Slam titles? That would be phenomenal! If anyone can do it, I believe it’s Roger Federer.

Source: AP

Post from: EveryJoe

Pete Sampras Thinks Federer Could Knock Record Out of the Park

Both Andy Roddick and Roger Federer played great tennis, but when Federer plays full-strength like he did this time, beating him is hard to do. The match was won by Federer with a 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 match.

This means that Federer has reached his 18th Grand Slam final and is going for that record of 14 titles. Pete Sampras holds the current record and now Federer has a chance to tie him.

Who will he play? Rafael Nadal. The media and fans have been murmuring in the past that Roger Federer is fading. Um, I don’t think so! A lot of players have spoken out about this lack of respect for Federer. What does Federer have to say about all this talk?

"I’m still surprised how quickly the mood swings with the media, fans, and everybody. If I lose a set or two sets, as against Berdych, then everybody is like ‘oh my god, he’s not the same anymore’, " said Federer after beating Roddick. "And then I beat del Potro and everything is back to normal. It’s not the way it’s supposed to be, I don’t think."

He went on to say, "I’m one of the players who is most thankful to those such as Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall. I know that by beating Sampras’s record of 14 slams I could maybe become the greatest of all time in the Open era, but never of all time."

Who has the advantage for the Federer/Nadal match? Well, Federer has eight hard court slam titles and Nadal has none.

Who do you think will grab the No. 1 ranking?

Check out some highlights from Day 11 of the 2009 Australian Open.

Source: Tennis.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Federer Outplays Roddick, Moves to the Finals

Well, Roger Federrer should be a happy guy. Andy Roddick has moved on to the semifinals after Novak Djokovic had to withdraw because of the extreme heat. Which means Federrer and Roddick will face off.

Federrer actually enjoys playing Roddick and has quite the rivalry with Djokovic. If he could have picked who to play, I am sure it would have been Roddick.

After winning his match against Djokovic, Roddick said, “It’s rewarding to come out on a day like today, when it’s pretty hot, and feel pretty good. That’s what you do the work for.”

Here are some highlights from Day 9 at the 2009 Australian Open.

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Roger Federrer and Andy Roddick to Face Off

Jelena Dokic had a good few rounds at the 2009 Australian Open, but her time is up. Dinara Safina defeated Dokic 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

“It’s a little bit disappointing,” Dokic said. “I had some chances, even in that third set, and couldn’t hold my serve.”

Safina, who was very entertaining as always during the match, had a few good things to say about Dokic.

“She hits the ball great. She moves good. She serves good,” said Safina. “She’s a very solid player. … I mean, she beat Wozniacki; the girl is No. 11 in the world.”

I would have liked to have seen Dokic go on further. Her comeback story is just amazing and I can’t wait to see what she does for the rest of the 2009 season.

Source: Tennis.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Dinara Safina Defeats Jelena Dokic

The heat wave going on in Melbourne, Australia right now is just brutal. This is the worst one they have had in 100 years.

The extreme heat is affecting players left and right. Novak Djokovic had to pull out of his quarter-final with Andy Roddick after feeling sick. He spent two and a half hours in temperatures rising up to 95 degrees F (35 C).

Belarus’s Victoria Azarenka also had to pull out of a match against American Serena Williams. She was ill, in tears and staggering around before she finally decided to throw in the towel. It was just too much.

The temperatures are actually expected to rise by Thursday, getting up to 111 F (42 C).

Marion Bartoli commented about the heat wave saying,

"It was quite, quite hot. I have to say it was definitely tough conditions.

"I don’t think it’s really fair to have one quarter-final played at 1:00 pm, right in the middle of the heat, and one playing at 7:30 pm. But I guess that’s the way it is."

Wow, I hope they do not make the players play their match in 111 degree weather. There is no way anyone can play their best in temperatures like that. It’ll be interesting to see what they do when the temperatures soar.

Source: AFP

Post from: EveryJoe

Melbourne Heat Wave Affects Australian Open

Marion Bartoli managed to defeat top seeded Jelena Jankovic, bringing on one of the biggest upsets of the 2009 Australian Open. She won the match in two straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, and is headed to the quarterfinals.

Jankovic’s performance just wasn’t up to par with Bartoli’s. She only won 56% of the points on her first serve, compared to Bartoli’s 81%.

In the quarterfinals, she played Russia’s Vera Zvonareva and defeated in just 69 minutes, 6-3, 6-0. Zvonareva performed flawlessly and is known as a “ball machine”.

Bartoli admitted that she was outplayed.

”I think she played just unbelievably well, she barely missed one ball after that,” Bartoli said.

”I was hitting as hard as I could and she was always coming back with some better shots.

”Even when she was scrambling she was putting the ball just 10 centimetres from the baseline so I never had a look at a ball to see whether I could attack, or had some space into the court.

”It seems like she was reading my game like a book. It was just too good, she was just better than me, that’s it. I think if she keeps playing like this, she can definitely win this tournament.

”She’s really consistent from the baseline, she’s almost like a ball machine she puts it back at you all the time, with interest.”

Source: On the Baseline

Post from: EveryJoe

Marion Bartoli Defeats Top Seeded Jelena Jankovic

(Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates defeating Amer Delic of the US during the men’s singles tennis match on the fifth day of the Australian Open in Melbourne on January 23, 2009.)

On Friday, January 23rd, Serbian and Croation fans got into it after Serbian Novak Djokovic’s win over Bosnian-born Amer Delic, who now represents the US, at the 2009 Australian Open.

The fans started hurling chairs at each other and injured an innocent bystander. The woman was hit in the head with a chair. As a result of the incident, two men were arrested and about 30 spectators were ejected from the game.

Crowds getting out of a control is becoming an Australian Open tradition and not one that is welcomed. At the 2007, Serbian and Croatian fans threw bottles, boots and flagpoles at each other. The people had to get thing under control with some pepper spray. Not cool. Not cool at all.

The fighting didn’t stop once they were kicked out. Two men got into a fist fight and were charged with "riotous behaviour".

This is nuts. Don’t come to the Australian Open if you can’t control yourself. You ruin it for everyone else. Geez.

Source: Guardian

Image Credit: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Australian Open Fans Lose Control