Australian Open men’s tennis review
The 2007 Australian Open is now done and dusted. There was no surprise in seeing Roger Federer lift the Norman Brookes trophy on Sunday night. There was a surprise in seeing Fernando Gonzalez facing Federer in the final. Gonzalez was able to match Federer in the first set and at one stage he had two set points. If Gonzalez could have converted on one of the points who knows how the match would have turned out.
In the end Federer just showed how he is a class above the rest of the players on the ATP tour. Federer became the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to go through a grand slam tournament without dropping a set.
So we know Federer is good, who stood out as a player to challenge Federer in the future? Obviously the number one candidate is Gonazalez. His winners to errors ratio was amazing in the tournament. If he can continue the form shown in the Australian Open and play consistent tennis and continue to hit the tennis ball as he did this past fortnight who knows how good Gonzo can be.
Andy Murray impressed me. Even though he lost to Nadal in five sets he showed he has the skill and tennis know how to be a top player in the months and years ahead. He reminds me of McEnroe with his touch around the court. Murray also is able to come up with huge ground strokes when in a position to hit a winner. 2007 maybe too early for Murray to be challenging Federer but you never know. He might answer England’s prayers and put up a good show at Wimbledon.
Andy Roddick was looking like someone likely to challenge Federer at the Australian Open however when the two players went face to face Roddick left the court with his tail between his legs. It now remains to be seen how Roddick bounces back and moves on in 2007. I don’t see Roddick doing anything at the French Open but he could be someone to stop Federer claiming his Grand Slam by taking the Wimbledon or US Open titles.
Rafael Nadal was looked at as someone to challenge Federer although he ran into a hot Fernando Gonzalez. The French Open champ is obviously the most likely to get in the way of Federer’s attempt to win the Grand Slam as he will be tough to beat on the clay. At the Australian Open he looked very strong when playing Andy Murray. He was not able to carry this forward when playing Gonzalez.
Of the other players who stepped out on court at the Australian Open Tommy Robredo showed he can hold his own against Federer. Robredo may also give Federer trouble if they meet again on clay at Roland Garros. Someone else to impress was the big Croatian Mario Ancic. He was unlucky to lose against Roddick but he showed in this match he can play at a level to be one of the top players on tour.
Wrapping up the Australian Open for 2007 I guess there is not much to say other than Roger Federer is awesome. Even the great Rod Laver raves about Federer and says he has so many shots in his arsenal. Unless injury gets in the way he is going to overtake Pete Sampras in the all time grand slam titles leader board. The main item of interest for the remainder of the year is whether or not Federer can claim all four grand slam tennis titles and be the first player since Laver to win a Grand Slam.
