Australian Open 2006

Baghdatis dared to dream, but Federer was just too good :

"Federer had looked mortal for the second week of the tournament and now he looked thoroughly vincible. Early in the final he popped forehands, botched volleys, shanked backhands and served more double faults than he had in six matches combined."

It was a hard call last night. To abandon my beloved cricket to watch the Australian Open, when Adam Gilchrist turned on a real show and the other cricketers were all in there making it an incredible match, or see just was was to happen in this remarkable tennis story. I channel surfed. I hate that. It's something I disapprove of because you are skating the surface and most sports events do have an emotional, human side as well as the thrill of the match. Sports events always have a story to tell and from that you draw inspiration as a human being even if you cannot perform at that high level. The cricket was great, but the tennis finals were so emotional and so absorbing. Here were two men who could make you feel for each shot, each volley and each point. The truth is , I used to be a great tennis fan but it lost the magic. The magic is what we had back last night because you could see why Marcos Baghdatis was there at the final, but you also knew that Roger Federer was putting everything on the line as the world's number one. Marcos Baghdatis was a very genuine, very capable opponent, but he was new. Roger Federer proved why he was the world's number one. He could rally his resources and summon up his skill and strength, but the emotion at the end was not that of an arrogant top player who thought he deserved to win. They were the tears of a man who had fought well for the honour of his title and Marcos Baghdatis had made him really pull his best skills out and made him feel every decision in that match. It was a genuine match and not one of those calculated executions of the game. Both those men have put the soul back into tennis and made it a wonderfully high level match to experience rather than just watch. What a night!!