Wonderful World of Tennis!

What a game..!and semua dah tau who won the tournament. A lot of surprises and shocking moments happened like the seeded players were kicked out at the earlier rounds, rising of the new promising young players, introduction of the new court type and color etc. If you guys didn’t know yet, the winners of the Tennis Australian Open 2008 goes to:

My reviews:

Mens Final

Finals : Novak Djokovic Vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

WINNER : NOVAK DJOKOVIC

Congratz Novak. Novak aka Nole(nickname dia) played very well throughout this tournament. He came out with extraordinary shots, big serves, unbelievable footwork and amazing volleys. He took care of the greatest player on earth, Roger Federer with a straight set (semis), David Ferrer (5) at the quarter finals, former world no.1 Lleyton Hewit (4^th round), Benjamin Becker (dia ni ada masa agak bahaya gak la) and other 2 unseeded players. He used to defeat Roger at one of 2007 Atp match. I think, if one day, Roger were to step down from his crown, Novak might get his chance. Think back, he improved A LOT..back in 2005, he was sent home at the 1^st round by Marat Safin (2005 Aussie Open Champ). At that time he was 17yrs old. Look how he turned into... This world no.3 really deserved what he got now. I like him cos besides his performance he has this unique personality. He is an entertainer and player. More to see from u NOVAK!

Novak defeated:

Roger Federer - a straight set semi finals match. Actually, I want Roger to win. Mmg la ada suara2 bising kata asyik Roger je mng..dh brp thn dh, kasi kat new champ pulak. Yeah, I agree..I do want to see new champions..tp Roger ada lagi 3 grand slam title that he have to win in order to break Pete Sampras’s grand slam records. See, sbb tu la nana Roger to win..just a little bit more steps to become secure himself as tennis legend(although now he already be seen as legend). Hmm..ms semis tu, tune Roger agak lari sikit..not like as his usual game..dunno y?maybe sbb court baru ke..or maybe still shocked with his match dgn Tipsarevic..Anyway, after his loss, rs nye Roger would double-up his work..and he will be stronger than he used to. Maybe sbb sblm ni he always got the so-called easy match and x being challenged..after this..confirm Roger dh plan new strategy.GO ROGER!

David Ferrer - I though David Ferrer would gave Novak hard time at the quarters. Tp xde la sgt as Novak won straight set. David started a bit slow, towards the end of the 2rd set baru engine nak panas…but already late..

RUNNER UP : JO-WILFRIED TSONGA

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga??Who the hell is he???...Yeah baby!!He is the talk of the town, even now..after the game ended. The 22yrs old Frenchman came into the tournament as unseeded player, has been played outstandingly as he defeated Top 10 players on his way to the finals. He caught attention at the very 1^st round where he defeated Andy Murray (9) in a 5 set match. Then he took care of 2 unseeded players at the 2^nd & 3^rd round. At the 4^th round he defeated Richard Gasquet (8), followed by Mikhail Youzhny (14). But what really WOW’s the tennis world was when he defeated world no.2 Rafael Nadal at the semis with a straight set match. Yeah, we all know how Rafa’s game is, aggressive and fast ball. Jo-Wilfried just managed to tame Rafa. Even Rafa can’t do anything with his shots and volleys. He done it damn well! Actually, I wanted Jo-Wilfried to win sbb his journey was like a Cinderella version of tennis. Kira mcm nk, the underdog to win the championship. Factors that might caused Jo-Wilfried kalah, maybe sebab..this is his 1^st grand slam final, surely nervous..where as Novak has been in the finals environment before, he knew what to expect. Then most of the audiences supported him..pressure!add plak dgn review’s from media and all. Also, he broke Novak’s comfortable zone sbb Novak x pernah dropped a set in the tournament. At least ms final, Jo-Wilfried did got the 1^st set. Tp kan, if he played mcm ne he played Rafa ms semis, yeah..dia boleh menang. Its ok..good experience for him. Due to his outstanding performances, he climbed up from the 38^th rank to 18^th in the world. But, if let say he won the title, dia akan naik rank no.9…Yeah..overall, I did enjoyed the finals, and hope to see more from him. He got potentials to go far. Keep up the good work..jgn jd star for one grand slam je..stay consistent!!

Womens Final

Finals : Maria Sharapova vs AnaIvanovic

WINNER : MARIA SHARAPOVA

Maria Sharapova nailed the game. Nana xde la fancy dia sgt (although guys really like her..maybe bkn sbb apapun..sbb grunting dia jerr…’aah..aaaah..ahh…come on!’,,huh..guys!), but being an observer, she deserved to win because she has been very consistent. Consistent as in producing a lot of big serves and good shots. Its good to know that she recovered from her shoulder injury last year which had cost her losing few tournaments. Ye la, last year’s Aussie Open she was the 1^st seeded sbb Justine Henin x main due to her marriage & divorcing stuff. At that time Maria was world no. 2…tup tup..sbb injury..year end she was down to no.5. Yeah, although Maria won this Grand Slam, she still remains at world no.5. Congratulations! You’ve done a great job by picking up what u left at the Aussie Open 2007 finals after losing the title to Serena Williams and all the best throughout the year!

Quarterfinals : Maria defeated Justine Henin

Although she lost to Maria during the quarter-finals, she still remains world no.1. Terus terang, at beginning, I really wanted Justine to win sbb she my idol..and I loike her very much. She just got this superb Single Back-handed return. During the quarter finals game, things doesn’t seem so right for her..she made a lot of unforced error, her shots asyik kena net, and backhand dia x menjadi. But, its ok…its still early of 2008, more games and titles to come..Luv ya Justine!!

Semifinals : Maria defeated Jelena Jankovic

This Jelena last year, during the Aussie Open, xde la among of the fav players. Amazingly, she did took some great chances and by year end 2007 she was world no3. But not for long as after this tournaments she is down to no.4. See..how a tournament could change player’s rank. Jelena played consistently and I could call her ‘player TABAH’ as she struggled with her injuries from the Hopman Cup carried forward to this tournament. She doesn’t move a lot, but she produced really good shot to her opponents, Also she played doubles. Tp kalah. She defeated last year’s champion Serena Williams at the quarter finals round. During the semis, actually she played well, maybe due to fitness and injuries she couldn’t perform well. Tapi apa pun, I’m still proud of u Jelena!

RUNNER UP : ANA IVANOVIC

Runner up is the beauty Ana Ivanovic. She played well, and consistent too. To me, the final was actually the battle of 2 consistent players. Ana gave hard time to Maria, they had almost similar game plan mcm big serves, deep shots etc. But in the end of the day, we only need one winner. Although Ana lost, she should be proud of herself cos now she is rank no2 in the world. Not bad huh..Good luck!!

Quarterfinals: Ana defeated Venus Williams

Venus Williams at the quarter finals round. This is the best quarter finals. Venus kalah sipi je. Actually, if at the final Ana played mcm she played ms lwn Venus, she could win the match.

Semifinals: Ana defeated Daniela Hantuchova

Finally, Daniela came out from her ‘save spot’. Dia ni mcm nk kata x terer, terer,,,tp kdg2 mcm xde improvement. She produced good shots and volley, her serve pun not bad. She improved a lot. Sepanjang previous Grand Slam, she never got through the quarter finals round. Good for her that she made it to the semis. Hmm..ms dia kalah dgn Ana Nampak sgt dia agak bengang..Maybe she wanted to go to the finals badly(sapa x nk kan)..All the best Daniela.

The Promising Players

Definitely Jo-Wilfried Tsonga...Should I say more...??

Who is Agnieszka Radwanska? Dia start glamer after defeated Maria Sharapova at the Us Open at the 3^rd round. Since then she has been consistently improving her game. I saw her on her training, shots dia mmg superb. Throughout this tournament, she defeated 2 unseeded players(without dropping a set) and 2 seeded players. Seeded players she defeated was Svetlana Kuznetsova (3) with straight set and Nadia Petrova (12) in a 3 set game. I called her female version of Federer, sbb she remain calm and her face xde expression bila main. But, the calmness tu la yg buat dia menang. Masa dia lwn Petrova, she was down 1^st set, 2^nd set Petrova leading 3-0..sikit lg nk menang, but then the calmness saved her..drag to 3rd set and she got through it. Although she lost to Daniela Hantuchova at the quarter finals round, she did sent warning to the Top 10 players. Now she climbed up from rank no.28 to no.21...Go Girl!!

Who is Maria Kirilenko? She got solid stroke and she defeated Anna Chakvetadze (6).

Who is Marin Cilic? He performed not as outstanding as Jo-Wilfired Tsonga, but he played well when he defeated 2007 finalist Fernando Gonzalez. Hmm..he reminds me of Mario Ancic. Will keep an eye on him as well.

VOTED AS THE MOST SHOCKING MATCH 2008!

Who is Janko Tipsarevic? He was crowned the Australian Open 2001 Boys Champion, 23yrs of age, and a Serbian player. Janko Tipsarevic dragged Roger Federer into a 5^th set match. Federer has never dropped a set since 2004 was pushed to the limit. I was damn berdebar2 ok….every shot tu sangat menakutkan. Janko played well, as he was given some tips from Novak (cz Novak used to play Federer in few matches) earlier before the game, on how to handle Roger’s shot. Looks like Novak has been doing some homework here. I guess…Roger’s n Rafa’s strategy is no longer safe now. They really have to improvise their game plan to remain at top.

Till then my review on the wonderful world of tennis. Hope to see again next year!!