Aussie Open 2010: Final Round Up

Well, another Aussie Open has come and gone and there were some exciting finishes, if not surprising results. Nothing could really top the awesomeness of last year where Rafa beat Federer in 5 sets and Federer cried in disappointment, but it was still two weeks of great tennis.


We had a great women's final with Serena Williams defeating Justine Henin in 3 sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. This was especially satisfying for me since I've had an irrational distaste for Henin since my college days. She physically resembles someone who I used to know that annoyed me and I've rooted against her at every turn. Not that she hasn't given me reason over the years to find her unpleasant. There was that whole incident a couple years ago where Henin held up her hand as Serena Williams was serving, the chair umpire didn't see it, Serena got called for a fault and Justine refused to admit that she had indicated that she was unready to start play. Boo, Henin! Poor sportsmanship! Even if I don't like her, I do love the drama she brings to the women's tour (and she does have the skills to back it up.) Serena started this tournament very strong but was struggling in the later rounds. Henin, in her first tourney back after about two seasons of retirement, was only getting stronger, totally steamrolling through her semifinal match. It was hard to say what was going to happen in the final. The tennis was strong, the tension was high and in the end, the player I wanted to win actually won and that's what matters most. Bravo, Serena!
The Bryan brothers also claimed another Grand Slam title, beating Daniel Nestor of Toronto and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia, winning the men's title on Saturday for a second straight year with a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3 victory. The Bryans had been on a five-match losing streak against Nestor and Zimonjic, so the victory was that much sweeter. It's nice that even if the United States is having a hard time coming up with Grand Slam contenders in the men's singles tennis tour, the Bryan brothers are still going strong in doubles.

And of course Federer dismantled Murray again in the men's final 6-3, 6-4, 7-6. The third set tie-breaker was a doozy though. I watched most of the match live, but fell asleep halfway through the third. When I woke up, I saw that Fed won in three sets, but watched the DVR'ed conclusion. It's kinda funny to watch a tiebreak like the one Fed won in the third set. I knew he would win it, it had already happened, there was nothing Murray could do as I watched to alter the course of reality. Still, as I was watching I was SURE Murray would win. He seemed to be in control for much of the tie break. I bet it would seem that way if I rewatched the end of last years Roddick-Federer finale again. Sometimes even if you know the outcome, tennis has a way of making you feel as you watch it, like something else could happen. It's like anything is possible on any given shot, even if you can know it will reach only one outcome.

So Federer takes home Grand Slam title Sweet 16 and Murray is denied once again. Murray is still only 22. If he can stay healthy, he'll have his chance to hold the big trophy. Rafa has a new knee injury which is disappointing but it should heal in a month. His ranking will drop from 2 to 4 next week, his lowest ranking since 2005, but what else can happen when he's not playing due to injury? I wish him a speedy recovery and again contend that if he's healthy he's the only guy out there that can consistently challenge Fed in tournament finals.

Fed's win is incredibly impressive. He's made every Grand Slam final for over two years. The Grand Slam finals are quite literally Federer vs. Somebody Else. It's crazy! I know everybody on the planet was ready to hail Tiger Woods for Athlete of the Decade (and he basically WAS Pro Golf for the past 10 years, I grant you that), but take a minute to consider the man Rodger Federer and the titles and records he's accumulated over his career. It's really astounding.

So that's it from Down Under! Hopefully Rafa will be able to rest and be healthy for his favored upcoming clay court season and take back his French Open title. I'll be here on the blog to follow him on his journey. Vamos!

Rafa Down Under: Aussie Open Quaterfinals

Oh, Rafa. This was the worst of all outcomes. Not the loss. You win some, you lose some. I didn't have the best feeling going into this match against Murray anyway. But to end in injury? Ugh, that's the worst. I feel so bad for him, and of course wish him a speedy recovery.

Rafa played really well in the first two sets, even though he lost both of them 6-3 and then 7-6. It was worth getting up at 4am to watch the match live. The 6-3 set was a lot closer than it looks, with Rafa having many chances to break on Murray's serve. Murray just played the big points better and was able to end up ahead. The second set was closer, but Rafa still had break chances on which he couldn't capitalize. He hurt his knee in the second set tie-break and after going down 3-0 in the third, Rafa could go no further.

Afterwards, Rafa was upset, but remained optimistic. "I didn’t have lot of problems for the last six months,” Nadal said in a news conference. “And today is the first time. I felt something which I think is a bad movement. But is not because the knee is tired or has been a bad movement or gesture. No, I think it’s going to be OK.”

Rafa is an amazing athlete with the heart of a true champion. He has my full support for success in the rest of the season and I hope he recovers soon. As for the rest of the tournament, I'm hoping for a Federer-Murray final, and it would be nice to see Murray win his first Major. He's Rafa's pick to win too. We'll see what happens.

Rafa Down Under: Aussie Open Round of 16

Last night Rafa secured an impressive 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia in the round of 16. Rafa has made it to week 2 of the Aussie Open! Woohoo!! Dr. Ivo is the tallest man on the tour, and is known for his booming serve. Nadal, said the strategy against Dr. Ivo was just not to blink. "Just be focused all the time, move the legs, because you going to have a lot of points only with one shot," Rafa said after the win. To give you an idea of just how tall Ivo is, take a look at the picture below when he meets Rafa at net after the match. Rafa is over 6 feet tall, and he's still almost a full head shorter than Ivo!

This victory sets up a highly-anticipated quarterfinal round match between Rafa and Andy Murray. Rafa has a solid 7-2 record over Murray, but I'm already nervous about this one. Murray has been playing really well, and Rafa has been having some mental trouble against top 10 players lately. Still, Rafa is healthy and playing big tennis this tourney. I expect him to throw everything he has at Murray in his quest for another win.

Rafa's thoughts? "Being the quarterfinals is a very good news for me ... I'm going to have a very difficult match against Andy It's completely different. He's one of the more talented players on the tour. he can play aggressive, play offensive. I want to play my game. ... If not maybe I will have a good flight home."

Don't book that early flight yet, Rafa! You can do it! Vamos!

Rafa Down Under: Aussie Open Round 3

Rafael Nadal continued his winning ways (while wearing questionably stylish shorts) last night in the 3rd round at the Aussie Open. He dispatched the No. 27-seed, Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.

On the surface, that score doesn't look so bad, but Rafa wasn't thrilled with his performance over all. He lost the third set, but the others looked okay on paper. Still, here are Rafa's thoughts. In the first set, "I played bad." In the second set, "a few moments, I played well." In the third? "I started terrible, no?" What about the fourth? "I think I played much better in the fourth set than the rest."

One undeniably bad stat for Rafa is that he only converted three of fifteen break point chances. He's gotta grab control of those opportunities! Then again, as Rafa put it, "Everybody has not very good days." He still found a way to win.

Next up, Nadal faces 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic. Dr. Ivo is notorious for his high number of aces, but they don't always lead to wins. Nadal just needs to play aggressively, and extend the rallies to tire Ivo out. Still it's going to be a tough match. Vamos Rafa!

Side note: Okay, so what the hell is going on in this picture? It looks like Rafa is running into one of the linespeople. He's not sexually assaulting this dude (it's a dude, right? don't let all that pink fool you.) because the racket is clearly placed in between their private areas, preventing contact. Still, as Rafa would say, it's an awkward moment, no? It bears mention that the only people wearing worse outfits than Rafa in this tournament are the linespeople. Hot pink wind breakers and hot pink hats with flaps, are... very bright. There's no way to look dignified in an outfit like that. No way at all.

One thing that's also nice to see in Rafa matches is crowd support. For some reason, the crowds are not always with Rafa, cheering him towards success. I always find this hard to believe, but I've seen it so many times nonetheless. I like pictures like the one below that show the crowds in Rafa's corner. Keep up to good work, Aussie spectators!

Rafa Down Under: Aussie Open Round 2

Last night, Rafa easily won his second round match against the enjoyably named Lukas Lacko. It was a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 display of awesomeness by Nadal. It was such an impressive display, there isn't a whole lot to say about it, except "good job!'"


After the match, Rafa said, "Well, I think I played [a] serious match. I think I played the match what I need to play. Winning 6‑2, 6‑2, 6‑2 is a really good news." Next up for Nadal is Philipp Kohlschreiber on Friday, who defeated Wayne Odesnik 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Vamos Rafa!


Fashion note: For some reason, Rafa has become a bit of a successor to Agassi as the ATP Fashion Player. He changes his color scheme for every major tournament and some of his outfits have raised eyebrows and sent tongues a'wagging in the past. At first it was his sleeveless looks that showed off his massive arms, and last season his hot pink shirt during the French Open, and his checkered shorts at the end of the season.


As I awaited last night's match, the commentators were discussing Rafa's fitness and someone asked Brad Gilbert how he thought Rafa looked. Gilbert made this pinched face and basically said that his technique looked good, but his "look" left something to be desired. He didn't like the plaid and the stripes and the color combos. Now, I had gone through a bunch of pics from the 1st round match online, and didn't understand what Gilbert was talking about. I admit the orange shirt with yellow and pink horizontal stripes, paired with one pink wristband and one white one, was a very European palette choice, but where was the plaid that had so offended Brad? Then during the match i saw it:



His SHORTS. His shorts are oddly plaid. At some angles you can't really see it, but then if the sun is positioned just so in the sky, this pattern of orange diamonds shows up in the shorts. It's... a little busy. I think Rafa's nonchalant attitude about it is endearing. It's like he simultaneously thinks a lot about what he's wearing, but never considers if it might look weird. If he didn't like it he wouldn't wear it. And if his outfit didn't matter to him at all, I don't think he'd change it so drastically so often.


I think if he had to face the 360 degree mirror with Stacy London and Clinton Kelly, they'd probably have some choice words for him on what not to wear. As long as he's happy and playing healthy, I don't care. I just can't get over how dismayed Gilbert seemed over the situation. He wants him playing good and looking good. Some people want it all.

Rafa Down Under: Aussie Open Round 1

The Australian Open is underway with Rafa playing his first round match last night... well, last night for us. The time difference is a little baffling. As I write this at 7:50am on Monday, in Melbourne time it is 11:50pm heading towards Tuesday. Rafa must've played at like 4am EST. I can't throw off my sleep schedule that much to watch live. I'm hoping that ESPN2 will show some of his match later this afternoon. It's always more relaxing to watch Rafa play when you already know that he's won.

Anyway, from what I can tell in the press Rafa started off a little sluggish, but found his form after the first set to collect a routine win against Australia’s Peter Luczak 7-6(0) 6-1 6-4. It's not always easy for the top players to go against Aussies in the early rounds because the crowd gives the Aussies so much support and guys like Rafa are still finding their rhythm.

“Playing the first round of one Grand Slam, you know, you know always the first round is a little bit more nervous and you have to start. First rounds are always difficult to play very well,” Rafa said. “Winning in three sets is good news, so very happy to be in second round,”

Next up, Rafa will face either Lukas Lacko from Slovakia or Leonardo Mayer from Argentina in Round 2. Obviously, Rafa is the heavy favorite. We can't take anything for granted though! Vamos Rafa!

Also of note, before the day before the tournament started, Rafa took part in a benefit exhibition for Haiti relief called Hit For Haiti. The event was organized by Roger Federer and featured many other top players in the men's and women's fields including Novak Jokovic, Andy Roddick, Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters.

The event was staged as a sort of mixed-doubles match featuring player substitutions. The players wore microphones on court, adding fun commentary to their play. In the end, Federer's Red Team beat Rafa's Blue Team (booo!) 7-6 in the one-set match.

The event raised more than $185,000, an amount that organizers expected would increase throughout the Aussie Open. Some tour players made separate contributions, including 2008 Aussie Open winner Maria Sharapova ($10,000), John Isner ($5,000) - after he won the Auckland tournament - and Marcos Baghadits ($5,000) - after he won in Sydney.

I don't know what's going on in the above picture, but I feel like there's a good story here. Overall, this seemed like a very fun event that both players and spectators really enjoyed.

I applaud everyone involved for taking time out of their prep schedules for the Open to help with such a worthy cause. Especially Federer, who was really the creative force behind the whole thing. Bravo!

Roman Holiday Part 5 - The Pantheon, The Gay Rights March and the only Non-Pizza Dinner

At long last! Part Five!

Okay, so getting to the 39 steps proved a challenge, but it was nothing in comparison to finding the Pantheon. The night before as I was making my way to Trevi Fountain, I saw all these signs for the Pantheon and figured I’d swing by to look at it (even though it was too late to go in) on my way to my destination. No matter how many signs I followed, I couldn’t figure out where this thing was. I also wasn’t 100% sure what it looked like. Was it really tall? Would it blend in with the many other ancient churches lining the back alleys of Rome’s streets? I was not sure. Bottom line: I never saw it that first night. Yet here I was, having just crossed the 39 Steps off my list of things to see and was feeling confident that I could find anything – Anything! – that I wanted to see in the city. I checked my map in my Frommer’s Guide for the bajillionth time that day and found what I thought was the most direct route to where the Pantheon (allegedly) stood. There are actually a couple of direct roads in Rome (Via del Corso, Via Nazionale and Via Cavour stick out in my mind) but there’s also just a lot of small alleyways that connect everything and it becomes like a maze. You could be right around the corner from what you are looking for, but if you turn left instead of right you might go on a loop that takes you in a loop that will take 20 minutes before you get back to where you wanted to be. I guess it’s a bit like the financial district in NYC.

From the Steps, I made my way back to Via Del Corso, took that straight shot street south but then had to veer off eastward into the maze of backstreets for the pantheon. There was an extra place I needed to find right around the corner from the Pantheon: Giolotti. Giolotti is this giant Gelati store that has hundreds of flavors of Gelati on-hand. It’s what all Gelati stands wish they could be. I actually came across Giolotti before the Pantheon which was exciting because a) I knew that I was close to the Pantheon and b) Giollotti to me looks like the candy store in the beginning of Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory where they sing "Candy Man." Oh, what delicious fun! I had just had a gelati at The Steps, so I thought I’d hold off on getting another one and find the Pantheon first.

I took a couple more wrong turns after following a few signs with arrows that in fact did NOT lead to the Pantheon (so frustrating!) but eventually I made my way into a piazza that gave way to the sight of the Pantheon. The Pantheon is beautiful, dark and awesome. It’s not the tallest building but it’s hard not to see it for the first time and be like “damn.” Some things just stand the test of time and the Pantheon is at the top of the list for surviving for millennium in style. I particularly loved the giant Egyptian granite columns outside. They were just so striking.

There was a big crowd outside the gates to the Pantheon and I made my way through the people to find out that there was actually a church service going on (because it’s still a functioning religious site) and we’d have about 40 minutes before tourists were allowed back in. I knew what that meant: Time for my trip to Giolotti! I cautiously made my way back through the streets trying to remember exactly how I’d gotten from one place to another. Fortunately, it was not too difficult in reverse. Once inside Giolitti, I was not sure what flavor combination I should go for. I wound up with a delicious chocolate, watermelon (which chocolate chips for seeds!) and frutti de bosco which in Roma was a kind of purple grape flavor. SO SO GOOD! Armed with my massive gelati I made my way back to the Pantheon. It was actually very crowded in Giolotti’s so it took up most of the wait time. When I got back to the Pantheon gates the crowd had swelled even more. People were getting restless. Can’t those freaks inside finish praying to themselves silently as they exit the building? Do they really have to finish the whole service just sitting there? Finally the worshippers exit, the gates open and the crowd rushes in. Now, this place shouldn’t be any different from the other churches of Rome, where there are signs asking you not to take pictures and people oblige, but that was not happening in the Pantheon. Camera flashes start going off left and right. People are trying to get pictures of the dome (which is even wider than the dome at St, Peter’s Basilica) and the whole place is just filled with noise and people falling all over each other trying to see what’s around them. Thankfully after that initial push in, the place calms down a bit and people filter throughout the space. I just loved being in that building. Some buildings speak to certain people and for me I just adored the Pantheon and the Colosseo. Those were my favorite buildings in Rome (with a shout out to the beauty of St. Peter’s Basilica as well.) There’s not a whole lot to DO inside the Pantheon though so after about a half hour of breathing the place in, it was off to my next adventure.

I wandered back to Via Del Corso and did a little window shopping. I had visions of me buying myself a new spring coat in Italy, but when I saw the prices with the exchange rate of the dollar I gave that dream up really quickly. There’s not much else of note about my time shopping other than to say that I did manage one whole conversation about the price of something with a sales clerk in my limited Italian. Also, they have many of the same retail stores we have on Via Del Corso, but at prices you wouldn’t believe. A jacket at Diesel for $450 American dollars! A pull-over sweater at H&M for $140 American dollars! No wonder we have so much European tourism in NYC. It’s already more than a 1.5 exchange rate and then the prices are still half as high here than they are there! It’s a sweet deal.

I made my way to the end of Via Del Corso which opens up to the giant monument Vittoriano. I make a note to myself that I want to climb to the top of it tomorrow for a great view of the city (it’s too late to do it now, because the sun has already started to set) I walked around to Via dei Formi Imperiali to make my way back to my hotel, when I came across a gay pride march. Now, I had seen signs about the March for the past two days and I knew it was happening today (which coincidentally was the same weekend as the Equality March in DC). I had wanted to go to the March in DC so I felt happy that I at least got to share in the experience of it’s Italian cousin. It had started in the Plaza Repubblica, which I assumed was where I happened to find myself, but upon further examination of my map later on, I realized that they had started in a completely different area of Rome and had marched their way down to Vittoriano. I sat on these giants steps as people flooded into the piazza. It was a very pleasant laid back sort of atmosphere which fit with the rest of my experience in the city. People congregated, there was a short speech which I couldn’t understand besides the word "equality" and the waving of the rainbow flag. Then everyone cheered and started wandering off to get cappucino. This also fit with the rest of my experience in the city. It was nice to see so many young people out and proud and letting their voices be heard. It has to be a weird dynamic with Vatican City being like a 15 minute walk east of where they were. Not that we’ve had an easier time trying to get marriage equality recognized in the States, without a religious base of operations right on top of us, but it has to be a strange dynamic under which they live.

So after that, I went back to my hotel to rest my feet for a bit before heading out to dinner. I unloaded my bag, which was still packed with my sweater and jacket and everything I’d picked up along the way from when I’d started my day back at the Colosseo. Doesn’t that seem FOREVER AGO? It did at the time as well. It was still a little early for dinner so I watched some International news. I didn’t write it down in my notes, but I believe they were discussing Obama having been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Also I saw a travel segment about visiting Germany at a time other than Oktoberfest and what it had to offer.

Dinnertime! I was very tired after my full day of walking and didn’t want to go too far from the hotel. The only problem with that was since I was so close to the Colosseo there was a lot of tourist trap restaurants around my area. I walked for a bit and settled on one that seemed minimally tourist trappy. When I sat down to eat, my main goal was to have some kind of leafy vegetable, because all I’d had for two days was pizza, pastry, gelati, water, wine and the chewy granola bars I had been carry around in my backpack. A vegetable was required. I wound up getting a nice salad (which on the menu translated to daily vegetables) and a pasta with ham in a cream sauce. The dish has a name you’d know, but I can’t think of it now. I got to sit outside at this restaurant and people watch which is all I really wanted to do. But then these two guys sat at the table next to me and we struck up a conversation.

The younger guy’s name was Dano. He was from Slovakia and seemed to be mid-20's. He was apparently staying with the older man who lived in Rome and who never formally introduced himself. For the entirety of the conversation at dinner I couldn’t figure out what the relationship was between these two people. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. There seemed to be a solid 30 years between them in age. I don’t think their relationship was sexual. I guess it could've been. Dano seemed very interested in every female that walked by our outdoor seating area though. Maybe the older guy was Dano’s relative? It was possible. The reason I don’t know (and outright asking seemed a bit rude) was because Older Guy was not really interested in talking. Dano was VERY interested in talking and so when Older Guy wasn’t responding, Dano turned his attention to me.

Dano was very nice. He had just arrived in Rome earlier today, he was staying with Older Guy (for reasons undisclosed) and was enjoying the city. I told him I was from New York. He asked me if people were happy there. This struck me as odd, because the dude who asked me for directions earlier in the day asked me the same thing in almost the exact same wording. I think I told him people were okay but that the economy was still bad. He had never been to New York but was very interested in visiting someday. He had travelled through a lot of Europe. We then got into a big discussion about renting apartments in NYC. I don’t know why we stayed on the topic for so long, but it really was like half of our dinner conversation.

I probably would’ve hung out a bit more with Dano because he seemed like a nice guy and he had a good grasp of English, but Older Guy really creeped me out. He seemed uncomfortable the whole time. So after I finished the last of my wine with dinner, we said good night and parted ways. I went back to my hotel and got my bookbag in order for the next day. It was a little before midnight, and I knew that the hotel bar stopped serving at that time, so I went down to see if I could get one last cheap glass of wine, and see what the scene there was like. Unfortunately, the bar was kind of a bust. It was a very nice room, but it was empty. I was hoping for people, but there was no one worth talking to. I tried to get a glass of the house red, but the bartender lady said they had no more and she gave me a glass of a more expensive wine that did not taste good, and this was one of the few instances on my trip where I though “enh, this didn’t work out so well.” but I checked my email on the computer there and sipped my drink for a long time and read some of the book I brought with me. Then it was back upstairs to bed! Today had been a long successful journey across the city several times order. On the list for tomorrow was a stroll through the parks at Villa Borghese, a trip up Vittoriano and much more Gelati!

Up Next in Part 6 – Owen Meets Nilor -his BBF (bicycle best friend), and explores the natural beauty Rome has to offer. Also, more gelati!!

Tennis: New Year, Same Obsession

Even though we are only six days into the New Year, Rafa has already managed to win a tournament in the new ATP season. I know, right? Who even knew they started playing again? Can't they even take a break through the New Year? Well, the important thing is that Rafa is back to his winning ways and feeling 100%. The tournament in Abu Dhabi might have just been an exhibition, but winning is better than losing, and beating Robin Soderling (a player who gave Rafa so much trouble last year) 7-6(2) 6-4 in the Final is great news for Nadal.

After the match Rafa said, “It is very important for me to begin the season winning. It’s been a real a difficult battle to win a tournament in the last six months and it’s never easy to compete against the best in the world all the time, but I will be giving it my all this year. For the moment though, it’s very important to start off the year with a title,”

He has already moved on to Doha for his second tournament, getting through the first round just fine. Vamos Rafa! We're gonna repeat winning that Aussie Open title later this month!