absolutely alex’s adventures & times

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Wow, what a shocker.

In what should have been a routine match for clay court king Rafael Nadal in the second round of the Rome Masters, he suffered a shocking upset in the hands of former French Open champion and Spanish compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-5, 6-1.

Ferrero now joins the very tiny club of players who had the temerity to beat Nadal on clay. The only other person who managed the feat is world number one Roger Federer, in Hamburg last year.

Nadal’s loss to Ferrero is only his second defeat after playing 105 matches on clay. Nadal was hoping to win a fourth consecutive championship in Rome.

And though he was suffering from a bad blister and had doubts about whether he should even be on court, Nadal toughed it out and finished up the match, despite an obvious loss of movement due to the discomfort bugging him.

“Today when I woke up, I said it was impossible to play. I spoke to the doctor today and yesterday and they put special protection on it and cream, but it was still tough.

“I congratulate Juan Carlos, but for sure that was not my best tennis.”

This stunning development, along with the loss of other seeds in the tournament so far, such as David Ferrer, David Nalbandian and Andy Murray, should throw the championship wide open to whomever has the guts and gumption to seize the opportunity.

The top two seeds left in the tournament are Federer and Novak Djokovic, who will both be cheered about the prospect of not having to face Nadal to win the tournament.

Federer, in particular, should be feeling confident to know that his arch nemesis has been eliminated for him at such an early stage. If he could focus and stay confident, he could be the one raising the champion’s trophy later this week.

But Nadal’s loss should not be taken as more than a glitch. He was obviously not at his best, hampered by his blister. But this does not mean he won’t be a menacing force come the big one — the French Open, starting at the end of this month.

Nadal has been rather unhappy with the packed clay court schedule in the run-up to the French Open, and has not been shy about expressing his displeasure. Hopefully, he’ll get a good break after his shock defeat today. He will certainly be pumped up to come back and win in Roland Garros later this month.

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Perhaps we should just wrap up the clay court season for tennis this year and move right on to the grass court season.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal, probably the best clay court tennis player of all time, has just reached another astonishing milestone and does not even come close to slowing down on the red dirt at all.

The 21-year old has just won his 100th clay court match in Barcelona today, beating compatriot Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-3 in the third round of the Barcelona Open.

His record on clay now stands at a formidable 100-1. The sole blip to an otherwise perfect record was inflicted by world number one Roger Federer in Hamburg last year. 

Was Federer watching Nadal’s latest match? If he was, he would undoubtedly take note of its significance and perchance find it just a little bit more daunting for himself.

Federer is still trying to claim the one Grand Slam title, the French Open, that has hitherto dodged his grasp. And Nadal has been the only one to stand in his way. Coming up against Nadal’s latest statistics, along with former tennis champion Bjorn Borg’s recent prediction that Nadal will sweep both the French Open and Wimbledon in succession this year, Federer will be facing an uphill climb for the next month or two.

But it is not impossible for Federer and too early to count him out anyway.

Besides beating Nadal outright in Hamburg last year, Federer came close at the recent Monte Carlo Masters finals. In both sets, Federer could capitalize quickly on Nadal’s mistakes and broke his service games repeatedly. Unfortunately, he slipped up at crucial moments and threw the match away, by failing to consolidate on the service breaks, falling back, and letting Nadal dictate play and wear him out. The problem seems more mental than anything else. If Federer believed enough, he could still beat Nadal at Roland Garros.

Nadal, though, won’t give in without a heroic struggle. He has arguably the toughest defence on clay, plus the endurance and self-belief to outlast any challenger. He just keeps getting more comfortable on the dirt, which makes him the one to beat in the months ahead.

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There was no third-time lucky for Roger Federer against his greatest nemesis Rafael Nadal on clay at Monte Carlo today.

Nadal proved to be impregnable on the red dirt, solidifying his dominance by winning the Monte Carlo Masters for a historic fourth time, 7-5, 7-5. His record against the Swiss star is now 7-1 on clay and 9-6 in career meetings.

It must sting Federer badly to have been up 4-0 in the second set only to let it slip away, as Nadal pulled off a spectacular comeback not only to take back the breaks he lost to Federer, but to break the world number one for the sixth time in the deciding game to take the championship.

Federer and new coach Jose Higueras will have much post-match analysis to do on why Federer did not manage to push Nadal to a third set, and to try to replicate the form that saw him racing ahead in the second set.

But while Federer might have lost in straight sets to Nadal today, he should take consolation at a better-than-in-the-past showing against Nadal on clay.

For one, Federer’s break point conversion against Nadal was impressive today, at an 80 per cent rate, or 4 out of 5 times.

He was able to capitalize on Nadal’s mistakes at the start of the match, taking the game at the first chance and creating some discomfort in Nadal. Unfortunately, Federer found himself unable to hold on to his own serve, immediately allowing Nadal to break back on two occasions in the first set, and get back into the match.

Tactically, Federer has improved dramatically against Nadal on clay. Recognizing that he cannot sit back and allow Nadal to dictate and wear him down with punishing rallies, Federer bravely took to the net to finish off points, to great effect on many occasions.

Though Federer’s loss could be pinned down the excessive unforced errors he made, there is a silver lining. If he could figure out a way to keep those unforced error down and ramp up his first serves, he has a much better chance at closing the gap against Nadal.

Perhaps it is also time that Federer and Higueras came up with a solution to his backhand. Nadal peppered shots at Federer’s backhand repeatedly and it bore fruit, forcing multiple errors from Federer, who barely made any winners from that side.

But coming on the heels of a rough start this season, Federer should be happy at his performance in Monte Carlo. He looks like he is back on form, putting the early-season slump behind him. He has also developed more tricks on clay. If he could muster greater hunger and will to win, that could bode well for his quest to win the French Open next month, the one Grand Slam title that has denied him.

Nadal though, was in a class of his own today. Most other players would have given up the set at 0-4 down, but Nadal’s indomitable spirit kept his chances strong. His extraordinary rally from being so far behind is a masterclass in self-belief and courage. He is giving notice that the French Open will not leave his grasp easily.

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Equilibrium has been restored in the tennis world once again.

The sport’s top two players, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, will meet in the finals of tomorrow’s Monte Carlo Masters.

It has been a long time since the two played each other, with their most recent meeting during last November’s Shanghai’s Masters’ Cup, where the Swiss world number one thrashed Nadal 6-4, 6-1.

But tomorrow will be a different story. Nadal is right at home playing on clay and has an absolutely staggering 93-1 record on clay since April 2005. His sole loss? To Federer in Hamburg last year. Head-to-head, Federer is 1-6 against Nadal on clay.

Nadal’s stranglehold on clay only seemed to have tightened this year, after his impressive wins in Monte Carlo so far. He easily swatted away competition, never once being stretched to a third set in any match. Federer, in contrast, had more of a struggle and nearly lost in the second round to a player ranked outside of the top 100. It would take a supremely confident Federer bringing an A game to have a chance to unseat the Spanish player, who is indisputably the king of clay.

But what a pleasure it would be to see the return of a great tennis rivalry and for these two champions to slug it out once again. Besides spades of talent, these two are true sportsmen, unlike the pretender trying to dislodge them from their top positions, Novak Djokovic.

He and his clan might be able to talk up a storm about how the Federer era is over and he is the future of tennis, but Djokovic does not yet have the game, nor the heart or courage to step up to the fore.

Time and again, Djokovic has chosen to take the easy way out when he has his back pushed against a wall, with a memorable example being last year’s Wimbledon against Nadal. He has had a history of cooking up convenient excuses like an illness or injury and retiring rather than have the gumption to take a beating.

This comes on top of his reputation of gamesmanship, be it taking too long between games when he is serving or bouncing the balls dozens of times before service, but also for often using medical timeouts during matches without justifiable reasons.

Clearly fearing the prospect of being beaten fair and square by a resurgent Federer in today’s semifinal, Djokovic wimped out and gave the excuse of “dizziness” for withdrawing from play.

“From the start I didn’t feel so great,” Djokovic complained. “I just couldn’t get enough energy back after each point. I feel dizziness a little bit in the last three days. I don’t know. Doctor in the tournament couldn’t give me the right diagnosis. I’ll check as soon as possible.”

Hmmm, perhaps the doctor was too polite to give him the true diagnosis — wimp-ititis.

In all of Federer’s 705 matches since turning pro, he has not retired once during a game. When his chips were down, he pressed on to the end, losing graciously.

At this year’s Australian Open, Federer was not only hit with a bout of food poisoning, but was also suffering from monoclueosis, a career-ending condition for many athletes. That did not stop Federer from battling in an epic five-setter against Djokovic’s compatriot Janko Tipsarevic in the third round, and pushing all the way to the semifinals before losing to Djokovic.

Federer was once again diplomatic when asked about Djokovic’s sudden onset of illness after easily beating the likes of Andy Murray and Sam Querrey in earlier rounds. Still, Federer couldn’t resist taking a dig at his rival.

“I didn’t see anything from my side till when he called the doctor,” said Federer. “But I didn’t feel like he was playing too sick. I didn’t think it was that extreme.”

He was right. Djokovic had looked just fine. At 20, the Serbian player may still be lacking in maturity, but he has to grow up and stop concentrating on being a showman if he is truly serious about being a tennis champion.

Quitting a match not only smacks of disrespect for his opponents, it also is unfair for the sponsors and audience who have paid good money to watch the match. On top of that, it is unprofessional.

Unless he is on the brink of collapsing or has something far more serious or life-threatening, Djokovic should not withdraw from games so frivolously. When things are going against them, true champions rally and go down fighting. And if they have to lose, they do so graciously.

(Reuters photos)

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Spain continues to be denied the chance of having its players take home the Sony Ericsson Open championship trophy, despite having had three finalists making a play for it — Sergi Bruguera in 1997, Carlos Moya in 2003, and Rafael Nadal this year.

Nadal again came up short in his second final appearance in Miami today. In 2005, he lost in a five-setter to Roger Federer. Today, he was blown out of the water by Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko in just two sets.

It is one-for-one in Russia’s case, as Davydenko is the first Russian man to make the final and went all the way, destroying Nadal 6-4, 6-2 in one and a half hours. Perhaps Nadal’s consolation would be that he would be leaving the US and heading back to Europe, where the start of the clay court season awaits.

US Presswire photo

Continuing this Miami storyline of the law of averages coming up to haunt the players who had held the upper hand in previous match-ups, Davydenko again broke through to beat Nadal, whom he had never defeated in two previous meetings.

Davydenko’s winning streak against previous opponents he had not managed to beat started with his snapping of a five-game loss record to Andy Roddick, when he defeated the American easily [7-6 (5), 6-2] en route to today’s final.

It is the Russian’s second Masters Series title, with the first won in 2006 in Paris.

And the amazing thing is, he was only playing with one racket throughout the tournament, having just switched to a new one with a special 18 main string configuration.

“I have only one racket,” Davydenko said. “Surprising I didn’t break a string. Warm up and play match, warm up and play match, every match, and I finish with the racket.

“I’m going to keep forever this racket.”

Perhaps the usually low-profile Davydenko is too modest. It was his impressive serves and even more amazing returns that sealed the title for him. He was able to answer anything Nadal threw at him but Nadal was also playing too defensively to overcome Davydenko’s clever shot placements or challenges at the net.

This unexpected win by Davydenko will hopefully go some ways towards getting him out of the funk he had been playing under since the allegations of his involvement in a match-fixing scandal broke last year, along with the ATP’s investigations.

Perhaps the quiet Russian will finally come into his own now, after having been a proverbial bridesmaid in the men’s tennis game.

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While a certain young male Serbian tennis player jaws off about being world number one in the near future and crashing the party of two that has long been dominated by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Nadal — the current world number two — is quietly letting his racket do the talking.

Nadal is discreetly closing in on Federer’s long reign in the number one spot, without fanfare and having to alienate others.

If Nadal wins in Miami tomorrow against Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko in the final, Nadal would just be a little over 600 points behind Federer in the rankings. If he loses, he still gains on Federer, given his performance so far.

And the Spanish-born Nadal does that going into the clay courts season, where he pretty much rules the roost (although on the flip side, he does have a lot of points to defend in those tournaments).

The Nadal-Davydenko match looks about 50:50 right now, with both men bound to be hungry to win. It has been a while since either of them had won a title.

More is at stake for Nadal here, who last won a championship in July 2007. His only hard-court title last year had been at Indian Wells and he would be keen to prove that he has more to his game than just being a clay court specialist.

In 2005, Nadal was in the final of the very same tournament, the Sony Ericsson Open, and looked on track to winning the title when he took the first two sets against Federer, only to have Federer come back to win the next three sets and deny him victory. Nadal would be keen to rectify that experience by taking the title tomorrow.

But Davydenko could similarly be in an uncompromising mood. He is still looking to break out of the cloud of suspicion of having allegedly thrown a match to a much lower-ranked player, in a match-fixing scandal. While he might be cleared soon, a win in Miami would be a great step towards putting that incident behind him.

Davydenko is 0-2 against Nadal, but on a hard court and with his new “magic racket”, his confidence is at a new high, especially after he demolished Andy Roddick for the first time in Miami’s other semi-final match on Friday, despite having lost to the American in all previous five head-to-head meetings.

It could very well be decided by the weather tomorrow. If Miami’s hot and humid spell continues, the sun-loving Spaniard will have the advantage, while the Russian might just wilt away.

So that young Serbian could do all the talking he wants, but it does not look like he is going to be catching up with Federer the more realistic way that Nadal is.

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“I hope the media don’t start “killing” Roger for this. He doesn’t deserve it and he is really a great guy. I am sure he will win soon again,” close rival Rafael Nadal said in his blog on Tennis.com, referring to Roger Federer’s defeat by Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami yesterday.

Nadal’s parents should be so proud to have raised such a gracious champion. But the media, and some bloggers, might not be as kind to Federer as Nadal.

Considering how hard psychologically it is for Roddick to try to bring an end to the 11-game losing streak against Federer, it was a sign of the tide turning against Federer, that Roddick dug in and believed. It is also a sign that things will only get more difficult for Federer in future, as more players lose their fear of playing him and believe in themselves more, having the faith that they can beat the great Federer and that he is no longer endowed with an aura of invincibility.

But that’s not to take credit away from Roddick’s game. This season, he had been proving his chops, already winning two titles, beating Nadal and Novak Djokovic so far. It looks like the high-profile split with his coach Jimmy Connors did not do Roddick any harm. Or if you looked at it another way, their parting of ways was actually good for Roddick. Or maybe it is his euphoria of being engaged, to a swimsuit model, no less. That sure could motivate a man.

In truth, Federer is in a funk that he does not seem to be able to shake. This is the first time he had not reached a final of a tournament, since 2000. Law of statistics or not, Federer’s consistency seems to be deserting him at this crucial juncture. Confidence appears to be an issue too. The old Federer would have had the mental edge to push himself to come back and win. He would no doubt have loved to be the winner in Miami, just to silence the critics and prove that he is not losing his touch, as so many have condemned him to be.

The season, however, has just started and has a long way to go. And Federer is working hard to make up ground on his weakest surface, clay. He is moving to Europe next and will be in many clay court events, in the run-up to the big prize, the French Open in Roland Garros. He would have to deliver in those events, so that the heat would be off him a little.

His female counterpart, Justine Henin, looks to be in a similarly vulnerable position. The start of this year has not been kind to her either.

While some might say that she does not usually come into her game until the clay court season, which is her best surface, it is the way in which she was defeated so far this year that should be a matter of concern for her and her coach.

Henin lost 6-4, 6-0 to Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, and scored another bagel when Serena Williams beat her even more badly, 6-2, 6-0, in Miami. Perhaps her body is finally tired of taking all the strain she has been handing it for years, but getting trounced with a humiliating bagel is not the kind of score you would expect from a world number one.

In her defense, Henin, unlike Federer, has already picked up two titles this year, one in Sydney and one in Antwerp. But what many critics have been saying, about how thin the women’s field is, does not seem off the mark, given how the Williams sisters are able to play occasionally and still whip their higher-ranked opponents.

This year could be a watershed year in the tennis world, with both the men’s and women’s number one on the brink of being dethroned, if both Federer and Henin fail to step up and defend their titles and rankings.

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Hold your horses about the changing of the guard at the top of the men’s tennis game.

The hottest tennis player of the moment, Novak Djokovic, has been upset at the Miami Sony Ericsson Open by South African qualifier, Kevin Anderson.

AP photo

21-year old Anderson put a halt to the 17-4 winning streak by Djokovic, the Australian Open and Masters Series Indian Wells champion, beating him 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4 in the second round of the tournament.

So maybe world number one Roger Federer, who has been in a slump, will now get a break.

After all, even Djokovic, the most in-form player this season and world number three, lost in his opening match against a 122th-ranked player, Anderson being 6-foot-7 notwithstanding. Djokovic is also the defending champion in Miami.

Federer on the other hand, had lost this year to Djokovic, 13th-ranked Andy Murray, and world number 40 Mardy Fish. He was also plagued by mononucleosis in the past few months.

This has been an interesting season so far, as Federer and world number two Rafael Nadal have as yet failed to assert their usual dominance this year. The men’s game has been thrown in a flux, which would be a good chance for lower-ranked players to break through.

Does this make tennis more interesting? Certainly. Will this add new excitement to the game? Definitely. This situation removes the predictability that has been in men’s tennis in the past few years.

No one can stay at the top of the game forever. All athletes know that.

Still, it would be premature to think that time is up for Federer and Nadal.

They might be having a bad start — by their high standards — to the year but they still have plenty of game in them yet. It would be a pleasure to see them returning to form soon, hopefully in Miami, so that the chatter about their demise, especially Federer’s, would be laid to rest.

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What an exciting start the Australian Open has been for the new tennis season.

New stars were born and some of the established stars faced rude shocks during the past two weeks.

Yet, what a ride it had been for fans, for so many fabulous reasons. Despite all the drama, it’s only the beginning of the year – which means there are lots of reasons for tennis fans to keep their eyes and ears peeled for the months ahead.

1. The women

A. Maria the Assassin

Apologies for the somewhat inappropriate reference but Maria Sharapova is back, baby, and the others had better watch out.

After the full recovery from her shoulder injury and a miserable 2007, Maria has found her mojo once again and is more menacing than ever.

Never mind that she holds only the number five spot in the rankings. With her newfound confidence and renewed aggression, Sharapova is in devastating form and is the one to beat. She has proven her versatility in the sport, having won Wimbledon 2004, the US Open in 2006 and now, the Australian Open. (Does anyone else notice that even years seem to work better for the Russian blonde?) More ominously, she mowed down heavy-weights in her quest for the Australian Open title, without having to drop a single set.

It’s so easy to hate Sharapova – for her glamorous good looks, the on-court shrieking, her psycho dad, and the early successes. But Sharapova looks to have developed a new level of maturity and grace that has boosted her game, making her detractors eat their words while she blows the competition clear out of the water.

Her Kryptonite, like Roger Federer, is the red clay at Roland Garrros, which means that she would not be the favorite to win this year’s French Open. But the girl’s only 20, so there’s probably plenty of time for her before she too, will add the trophy from Paris to her mantel.

B. Justine Henin

What of the women’s world number one?

She remains the odds-on favorite to lift the Roland Garros crown once again, come this summer. But with Sharapova’s renewed hunger and power, Henin would have to fight harder not only to remain the top dog but also to win her first Wimbledon title.

Like a female Federer, Henin is facing a new wave of young and eager talent hungry to dethrone her. However, it is still too early to write the 25-year old Belgian off. Hers might not be the power game favored by today’s younger players but her sharp intelligence and quick thinking, together with an indomitable spirit, still make her a dangerous opponent.

With her devastating loss to Sharapova in the Australian Open quarterfinals, you can bet that Henin would go back to the drawing board and work even harder.

C. The Serbians and the other Eastern Europeans

At this point, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic just do not have the mental edge to take them to the level of tennis occupied by Henin and Sharapova. Both the Serbians have made vast improvements, especially the younger Ivanovic. Somehow, they are not quite ready to take it to the next level of actually winning Grand Slams, even if they might be physically ready – well, Ivanovic at least, while Jankovic seems to be too bogged down by her multiple injuries currently.

Ivanovic has played in two Grand Slam finals but still needs work on her mental game to be up there with the champions. Again, age is on her side and perhaps she will finally break through later this year, or next year.

Daniela Hantuchova – what a waste! The girl’s got the talent but not the mental fortitude nor self-belief to match her game. She is in danger of being written off as yet another “choker” and with every tournament that she throws away, it is getting harder for her fulfil her promise.

Are we ever going to see the other Russians in the women’s circuit stepping up?

The Svetlana Kutznetsovas, the Elena Dementievas and the Anna Chakvetadzes are constantly in the top 20, even the top 10, but one can’t help feeling that they are there to round up the numbers and for the top-rung to pick through on their way to racking up titles.

D. The Williams

This Australian Open truly shattered the aura of their ability to dominate the women’s game as and when they choose to.

Their former victims have ended up beating them convincingly and despite more training and effort put in by the Williams, they can no longer come along and mop up the competition, as the women’s field gains depth.

Would they still slog on? Do they have the interest to keep fighting to win the big events? Who really knows when it comes to the Williams?

2. The men

A. Federer the (temporarily) fallen

Sure, Federer was taken out in straight sets by the eventual Australian Open winner, Novak Djokovic.

But who among us hasn’t had a bad day at the office?

It’s just that when the likes of Federer have a bad day, EVERYONE notices. And the vultures swoop in.

Hold your horses – it’s still too early to write the Swiss maestro’s obituary. No doubt the road to winning more Grand Slams (3 more to beat Pete Sampras’ all-time record) is going to get more arduous for Federer, but he still has time, and more significantly, the game, to crush lesser mortals.

It is proof of the kind of class Federer has when he repeatedly played down the effect of his bout of illness that he suffered just before the Australian Open. Swiss newspapers had shed light on the fact that not only was he hospitalized, he lost something like three kilograms due to that ailment. So Federer was not at his best nor well-prepared enough to face the rigors of a tournament at Grand Slam level.

The ironic thing is, this loss could well spurn Federer on to train harder, soup up his strategy and even find a coach to tighten his game. Expect him to come back hungrier and perhaps more aggressive – he wants to chase down Sampras’ record and he would want to do it sooner rather than later.

B. Nadal is not over the hill either

Poor Rafa.

He had it even worse than Federer.

Critics were quick to dismiss him as nothing more than a clay-court specialist. But they forget to mention that Nadal’s semi-final outing in this Australian Open is his best result ever.

And what a class act the Spaniard was after his defeat by the giant-killer Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. No excuses, no belittling his opponent. In his blog, Nadal gave full credit to Tsonga’s brilliant play.

And Nadal is still improving. At 21, he is already holding three French Open titles, plus a serious shot at winning last year’s Wimbledon. Nadal remains the top contender to be the next world number one. So give him a break.

C. Djokovic stops (d)joking

The ambition. The hunger. The dedication. And now, the Australian Open crown.

Djokovic has proven to be a quick study and is indubitably here to stay as the gate-crasher to Federer’s and Nadal’s dominance.

At this moment, hard courts seem to be his domain and with more hard court matches than other surfaces in the men’s tour, Djokovic will enjoy much success.

But it’s striking how quickly he switched from being everyone’s favorite joker on the circuit when he did spot-on imitations of his peers, to one facing an openly partisan crowd against him in Melbourne.

For the young Serbian who wears his heart on his sleeves, loves attention and adores adulation, the Melbourne crowd’s lukewarm reaction to his moment of greatest triumphs smarted badly.

He has himself to blame for the lacklustre crowd support.

For one, his gamesmanship has annoyed many, especially the sports-mad Aussies and their sense of fairplay. When Djokovic celebrates points won against opponents, his chest-thumping and screams carry too much of an edge that smacks of arrogance. No wonder then that the crowd had not embraced him, giving his wins appreciative applause but saving heartfelt cheers for his opponents.

He might have made history by being the first Serbian man to win a Grand Slam tournament. No doubt he will win a few more. But there’s still some ways to go before he can get the appreciation and support he craves.

D. Tsonga the French sensation

Tsonga is living proof that when the French have it, they have it in bucket-loads.

Only someone with his charisma and talent could overshadow the other fantastic storyline of the tournament despite not hoisting the champion’s trophy – that of Djokovic winning his first Grand Slam title.

The crowds at Melbourne lapped up the Frenchman’s electrifying go-for-broke style, booming serves and astonishing shot-making. And they obligingly roared louder every time Tsonga incites them to bring down the house.

Add to that Tsonga’s compelling personal story of nearly losing the chance to compete at the top-level, as his body let him down again and again in the past three years, first his back, then his shoulder and abdomen.

With his body finally playing ball, he was able to unleash an irresistible brand of tennis, entering the stratosphere of tennis superstardom.

The big risk is that Tsonga will be one of the many shooting stars that fall off just as quickly. But if he keeps up with the exuberance and audacity that he had displayed in Melbourne, he would doubtless be unforgettable, and another serious, and welcome, contender.

Now if only I can get my body clock back to normal hours after having stayed up till the wee hours to catch the matches for the past two weeks…

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Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has done it again, continuing on his extraordinary run in the Australian Open by upsetting world number two Rafael Nadal in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.

(photo by The Age) 

In a superb display of flawless serving (17 aces), fearless net play and blistering winners (49 versus 13 from Nadal), the unseeded Tsonga booked himself a berth in the finals, awaiting either Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic’s arrival on Sunday.

Through the 117 minute match, Tsonga stayed unruffled and coolly threw one puzzle after another at Nadal, who could find no answer and lost his serve right at the start. Conversely, Tsonga’s serve was so impregnable that Nadal could only find his first break opportunity in the second set but failed to convert. From there, the Frenchman did not give the Spaniard much chance, clinging on to his serve and further threatened Nadal’s.

Prior to this match, Nadal had not dropped a single set in the tournament. But in a stunning change in this match, Nadal was made to look like the unseeded player, often frustrated and even angry. No one has beaten Nadal in this manner, until Tsonga breezed along, pulverized Nadal into submission and shook up the tennis world.

“Just amazing… unbelievable… nothing could stop me today,” the 22-year-old Tsonga told the press after the match. “I tried to hit everything and everything went in, so… what can I say?”

Will Tsonga, the 38th-ranked player in the world, go all the way and bring the Australian Open crown home?

Don’t be surprised if he does.