Hey All...
The Grand Slam season is over in tennis...which means we all have to wait until January to see another Slam match. Luckily, the season's last Major proved to leave us with quite a thrill. For the past couple of years, the Open has been, in my opinion, the worst Major. It's been dominated by Federer, with no real competition for him, and no memorable finals. It was like Roger would float through the draw and beat someone easily to add another notch to his belt.
This year's Open couldn't have been more different.
Besides the fact that we had Americans Melanie Oudin and John Isner make names for themselves, there were loads of interesting material in Flushing Meadows. Rafa was back, Fed was hunting for another, Murray looked poised to win, rain played with the schedule again, Novak was with his new coach Todd Martin, Roddick was 15 lbs lighter at this Open, and what turned out to be the best story...could Del Po win a big one.
The finals were set to play on Monday because of the rain, and the match up was less desirable than the usual Rafa/Roger showdown, or even an American trying to pull out a title. The familiar face, Roger Federer...possible GOAT and all time leader in Grand Slam singles titles was set to meet Juan Martin Del Potro. Going into the match Del Po was 0-6 against Fed, and this was also his first ever Slam final. All this should have added up to Roger's 6Th straight US Open.
I guess that's why they play the game. After being out-classed in the first set and looked down and out in the second, the 20 year old monster rallied to win the 2ND set in a tiebreak to even the match. Finally, we had a classic in the making in New York.
Del Po looked ready to take a two set to one lead, but tightened up and gave Federer the 3rd set thanks to a few crucial double faults. Surely Roger would cruise now, right? To my surprise,( and I think mostly everyone who studies the game) Del Po hung around and snuck the 4Th out in a tiebreak. A 5Th set would decide the 2009 US Open.
As soon as the set started, Federer resorted back to what he has gotten into the habit of about a year ago...unforced errors. They came in bunched from the ground, and his serve abandoned him. Before you knew it, Del Po was sprawled out on the floor as a new Grand Slam Champion.
It was an amazing match, and an amazing Major to close the year. It seems like we have a new threat to #1 in the world besides the "Big Four"(Rafa, Roger, Novak, Murray). Hopefully Del Po backs up his win and continues to grow and develop. He's a great personality in the game and a gracious and respectful champion. I hope to see a lot more of that hammer-head forehand in the future.
TT
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