Federer wins Australian Open 2010. Credit: STF/AFP/Getty Images
Federer won the the 2010 Australian Open over Andy Murray in straight sets last night (or early morning). That’s his 16th slam and he doesn’t show any signs of letting up at 28 years old. I love how 2/3 weeks ago people were saying it’s wide open and that there are 5-8 guys who could win. Actually that’s true, which just makes it so much more amazing that at the end, it’s still Roger. At 28, he’s still beating the young guns and winning slams. It’s just amazing, this guy is the most dominant athlete of the last decade.
For people who don’t follow tennis, 28 is old in the tennis world, a tennis player’s prime is usually 20-25. And tennis fans rave about Roger because you really have to watch him play over the years. The numbers and records he’s putting up may never get broken. In many cases, he’s not just breaking old records, he’s completely shattering them.
I honestly have never liked Murray but I do feel sorry for the young guy with Great Britain putting so much weight on his shoulders. It’s surprising when you look at the situation and Murray’s coming into the final with more pressure and expectations than Roger Federer, the #1 seed. But my view towards Murray has softened a bit after his speech at the trophy ceremony.
It was clear that part of Murray’s strategy was to keep going to Federer’s backhand. But Fed’s backhand was ROCK solid today. I actually expected a bit more errors from that wing. These days if Roger falters, his backhand is the most likely shot to break down first, the side were errors come from. But his backhand was really great – he hit some awesome angles and several winners with the backhand. And Fed served very well and that was key for both players. I thought his loss last year was due to poor serving (had he served better I believe he would’ve won in 4 sets).
I have a tendency of reversing the results of a match when people ask me “what’s the score” or “who won” but I was so tired/sleepy this morning after the match that when someone asked me who won, and I said Federer, she thought I was lying and refused to believe me – saying that I looked so sad, that Federer must have lost. I smiled and went to bed.
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