It has taken me over a week to sufficiently recover from Rafa's shocking loss in the Australian Open in order to write about it. (Truthfully, I got over it a few days ago but have been a bit busy.) The quest for four consecutive major titles -- The Rafa Slam -- came to a jarring halt against fellow countryman, David Ferrer, in the quarterfinals. Nadal suffered a hamstring tear in the first game of the match and was unable to match the movement of the relentless Ferrer. It was a shame, really. With Ferrer firing on all cylinders, a healthy Nadal would have needed a superior effort to get past him. It could have been a classic. Instead, it was twisted tennis theater. Out of respect for Ferrer and for the game itself, Nadal refused to retire from the match. Clearly less than his best, the world number one battled the best he could. He took an extended injury time out in the first set, coming out of the locker room with his hamstring taped up. Then, in the second set, when it seemed Nadal was moving okay, there was a ten-minute break while fireworks filled the sky in honor of Australia Day. The break couldn't have helped the hamstring. Adrenaline was lost, as was any hope of a miraculous comeback. Ferrer refused to take pity on his wounded Davis Cup compatriot. He made the match physical. Nadal bravely fought on, but Ferrer mercifully finished him off in straight sets. In the press conference following the match, Nadal admitted to being injured very early on in the match but did not use that injury as an excuse. Nadal wore his disappointment on his sleeve, yet gave full credit to David Ferrer. In the moment, Rafa earned both sympathy and admiration, a true champion in victory and in defeat.
The rest of the tournament was somewhat anti-climactic. In the semis, Andy Murray lost the first set to Ferrer but rallied to take the next three and move on to the final. With Nadal going down, Novak Djokovic became the favorite. The Serb soundly defeated Roger Federer in the other semifinal, also in straight sets. In the final, nerves got the best of Andy Murray. Djokovic pounced on the emotionally-brittle Brit and took the title in three fairly easy sets. It was Nole's tourney. His game and maturity peaked during the fortnight. He was a worthy champion. It was his second Aussie Open trophy and second Grand Slam title overall. With consecutive victories over Roger Federer in the semis of the U.S. Open and Australian Open, Novak Djokovic is now the second best player in the world. He will most definitely be a force to be reckoned with the rest of the season. But it would be foolish to count out either Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer, two of tennis' all time champions.
