Australian Open 2012 (1/16 to 1/29)

[UGA Hayes]

Hard to believe Djokovic won a 6 hour match aginst Nadal, coming off the heels of a pretty tough 5 setter against Murray.

[GQStylin]

Wow can't say enough about both men in this match. Simply EPIC!

Federer must be thanking the Gods that Novak beat Nadal the last few majors otherwise Rafa would be only one or two slams off from Federer's record. Just amazing that Novak could pull this out when it looked like at times Rafa was going to take it.

And THIS is the difference between men's and women's finals in grandslams:

Women's GS finals - usually blowouts and boring as hell
Men's GS finals - not always as epic as this, but frequently MUCH more entertaining than not

[UGA Hayes]

That half court volley that rafa missed in his service game which he challenged was imo the most important in the match

[Turk Nowitzki]

This is ridiculous, shut these guys up or let the players sit down. They both look like they're about to pass out.

[Jugs]

im still in awe

[re49gb_2gho32fp]

...

[Turk Nowitzki]

Rafa is pure class. I was pulling for Novak but I'm gutted for Rafa now.

[UGA Hayes]

LOL at them bringing out chairs

[UGA Hayes]

So too early to ask where this one ranks. I still put it behind Rafa-Nadal at wilbledon.

EDIT er... Rafa-Federer that is

[GQStylin]

Man I wonder how many more slams Federer would've won if he had even half the mental fortitude and will to win that Novak and Rafa had. Federer despite all his skill doesn't seem to have it upstairs the way these two do.

[Turk Nowitzki]

Man I wonder how many more slams Federer would've won if he had even half the mental fortitude and will to win that Novak and Rafa had. Federer despite all his skill doesn't seem to have it upstairs the way these two do.

I think you're forgetting how good Roger was in his prime.

[re49gb_2gho32fp]

My stream lagged bigtime at the matchpoint lol. Just saw Djokovic laying on the floor and didn't know what was going on although it is implicit since he was halfnaked.

[Windmill]

Unbelievable match. Nadal unlike Federer shows a lot of fighting spirit no matter what the situation is. Being down a break in the 4th and coming back to take a tie-break was just out of pure will.

That being said Djokovic pretty much dictated the play for the last 4 sets of the match and Nadal looked like he was always on the backfoot.

[Raps in 4]

Women's GS finals - usually blowouts and boring as hell
Men's GS finals - not always as epic as this, but frequently MUCH more entertaining than not

The first game of this final lasted as long as the entire women's final match, lol.

[chinny]

What a great finals. The quality of tennis was as high as I've seen in my lifetime. Federer-Nadal at Wimbledonw was great too, but on this surface you could feel the guts wrenching rally after rally.

A few side notes... in defence of Federer, the ball changes over the past several years has definitely taken away his edge over the men's field. Fed's strokes are relatively flatter than most but the balls don't pierce as they once did. Players of old like Samprass would still be great but not nearly as successful with these balls on surfaces such as hard courts and even grass. I say this not to take anything away from Nadal. He's the greatest on court warrior I've ever seen but the heavier balls definitely gave him a few extra inches on Federer... Andy Murray should not be overlooked this year. IMO, he's taken a step up with added aggression to his game.

Anyhow, back to the champ. Djokovic showed guts I didn't think he had. To out-gut the gutsiest player of all time (imo) is truly one of the greatest accomplishments of all time in this sport. He could conceivably win the Grand Slam this year if he keeps this up.

Didn't watch much of the women's... it's reminding me of the heavyweight division in boxing today whereas the men's is looking like the heavyweight division of the 70's with Ali, Frazier, Foreman. However, congrats to Azarenka on a great tournament.

[MikeIsGood]

Awesome match. I am absolutely heartbroken for Nadal; I cannot imagine coming out on the wrong end of something like that. It wasn't just that it was a great match and that it was a grand slam final - it was that it was an exhausting, 6-hour affair against the man who bested him time and again a season ago. To make matters worse, with his planned time off coming now right after the tournament, he'll get to sit on that for the next three months without getting back onto the horse, so to speak. Ouch.

In the first set, Nole looked tired. Okay, he looked and played tired for most of the match, but in the first set it was pronounced. Nadal came out strong, relatively speaking, with some extra arm on his serve and he was taking a few more chances. Not many, but he was. From the second set on, Nole stepped his game up and it seemed as if it made Rafa recess and go back to his comfort zone; it was essentially the same mach we saw countless times last year, just that this time both players were totally exhausted. Rafa had some chances, which you couldn't say of some of the matches from last year, but ultimately he couldn't get over the hump.

I would not put this match up there with the famous Rafa/Federer match. As Patrick alluded to at least twice, this match - although epic in scope, background, physicality and mental willpower - this match did not have the shot making that was in that Wimbledon final. It certainly was a terrific match, though. It gets me excited for what could come this year. Nole and Rafa are, IMO, clearly the best two players in the world. Nadal has been in seven of the last eight grand slam finals. Four of those were wins. The three loses? To Djokovic, who has been in five of the last six grand slam finals, with four championships. His loss was to Nadal. It's not even close - these two are running away with the tour. On any given day they could be challenged by Federer, Murray, or a small handful of others, but these guys are on top...and Djokovic is clearly the king of the two right now.

RG could be tons of fun. Nole will be going for four straight, and Nadal trying to defend "home turf" and once again best his new top rival.

[Doctor MJ]

Murray is a whole step below Nadal/Djok. Head-to-heads are irrelevant to the fact that Murray has no slams. He is a step far below the slam winners. He has a huge mental barrier that separates him from being a champion. So why on Earth would Nadal get credit for beating a non-champion compared to beating a 4-time champion in Djok? Also, Murray hasn't even won a set in GS finals. If Nadal beat Murray in straight sets, the media would highlight that 'Murray has now been in 4 grand slam finals and is yet to win a set' which points to a mental problem (especially since he's been able to takes sets in GS semis, including the 5-setter vs Djok). Nadal needed Djok in this final, for all kinds of reasons.

So if Novak lost to Murray who then last to Rafa, Novak would be the one coming out having accomplished something? Please. Novak doesn't get to make Rafa look worse by himself losing early.

[Doctor MJ]

Man I wonder how many more slams Federer would've won if he had even half the mental fortitude and will to win that Novak and Rafa had. Federer despite all his skill doesn't seem to have it upstairs the way these two do.

Obvious hyperbole aside, I'm not sure whether I agree with this. Novak was never known for being mentally super-tough...until he started playing a hell of a lot better. I'll grant you that an improve mental maturity was part of what caused that, but there's clearly a chicken/egg thing going on there because the confidence that comes from playing well is crucial as well.

Similarly, while I would give Rafa the mental toughness edge over Fed, when he gets down to Novak you see him doing much of the negative mental things that you see from every other player known to man.

I think the big thing I'd emphasize is that really all 3 of these guys are absolute mental toughness giants. You simply have to be in men's tennis because you're not going to overwhelm the field with your talent alone. Compare them to someone like James Blake who really hit a wall once he hit a certain point, and then realize that Blake battled against tremendous odds to even get where he was, and then to get back after the injury.

[Doctor MJ]

Anyway, great match. How lucky are we to be experiencing this era of men's tennis? It doesn't quite have the personality conflict of the Mac/Borg/Connors era, but in terms of superstar talent, I'd say it's easily unmatched.

Now if only we can see the young women build on what they've done and lead us out of the most embarassing era of women's tennis I've ever seen.

[ReasonablySober]

Watching the replay. What a match.