Wawrinka Defeats Gutsy Nadal for First Slam

Stanislas Wawrinka stunned the tennis world by defeating world number one Rafael Nadal to win the Australian Open.  Wawrinka had defeated three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, and had reached the semifinals of the 2013 US Open, but was still a massive underdog against Nadal.  Despite playing in his first grand slam final, Wawrinka showed no nerves as he dominated Nadal to win the first set.  Early in the second, Nadal’s back appeared to seize up, and after a lengthy medical timeout, he could barely move around the court and his average service speed dropped by over 20mph.  But Nadal has long been known for his guts, and despite losing the second set handedly, he fought back to win the third and only narrowly lost the fourth as Wawrinka won 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.  Wawrinka showed his class with a muted celebration, merely raising his arms in the air, in respect of his opponent, who was as graceful as always in defeat, fighting back tears in his speech.  Wawrinka admitted, “I still think I’m dreaming.”

Hugely Popular Li Na Wins Second Grand Slam Title

China’s Li Na proved she is no one-slam wonder as she outclassed Dominika Cibulkova to win the 2014 Australian Open.  Li had lost in her two previous Australian Open finals, but the fourth ranked player was too strong for Cibulkova, as the Slovakian struggled with nerves initially.  Li raced into an early lead, but struggled with nerves herself, as Cibulkova broke back twice, before Li raised her game to another level in the tiebreak.  From there on, she never looked back, as she raced to a 7-6, 6-0 win.  The 24th ranked Cibulkova had been the revelation of the tournament, defeating Sharapova and Radwanska on her way to the final.

Li further increase her popularity with a hilarious winner’s speech.  Some of the best quotes include “Max, agent, makes me rich, thanks a lot.”  Her husband has become the butt of many of her jokes and this continued when she told him, “You’re a nice guy.  You’re lucky you found me.”  Li’s honesty, humor, and wit has made her one of the most popular women’s players and her second grand slam will be celebrated throughout the world.

Australian Open Semfinals All Set

The semifinals for the 2014 Australian Open are set, as the year’s first grand slam continues to deliver excitement and shocks.  On the woman’s side, Li Na will meet Eugenie Bouchard in the first semi.  Bouchard, only 19, has had a break-out performance, and has been tipped as being a future superstar as she has won over many fans with her clam presence.  But since saving a match point earlier in the tournament, Li Na has been unstoppable.  She is the only grand slam champion left, and has reached the Australian Open final twice previously.  The other semifinal will see tiny (5’3″) Dominka Cibulkova take on Agnieszka Radwanska, after the former Wimbledon finalist stunned Victoria Azarenka, ending her run of 18 straight victories.  Radwanska played brilliantly in that match, and will be the heavy favorite against her less-experienced opponent.

On the men’s side, the big story has been Stanislas Wawrinka’s stunning 5-set epic upset of Novak Djokvoic, who had won his previous 25 matches at the Australian Open.  After losing a heartbreaking 5-set epic last year, Wawrinka learned from his mistakes, and will now face Tomas Berdych for a spot in the final, in what is a huge opportunity for both men.  After edging rising star Grigor Dimitrov, world number 1 Rafael Nadal will play old rival Roger Federer, who has turned back time with stunning performances as he swept aside Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray in back-to-back matches.  Whoever wins their semifinal will be the heavy favorite in the final, but both Wawrinka and Berdych should not be underestimated as they chase their first grand slam title.

Sharapova Follows Serena out of Australia After Another Shock

Maria Sharapova was the second big-name casualty on the women’s side of the Australian Open in two days when she was upset by Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova.  The short Cibulkova, only 5’3″, showed no fear against her opponent, who is almost a foot taller, despite losing the first set 6-4.  She rallied to win the next two 6-3 and is now through to her first Australian Open quarterfinal, and 5th overall in grand slams.  She will face the red-hot Simona Halep, who won more titles last year than anyone not named Serena Williams.

Ivanovic Stuns Serena Williams

In by far the biggest upset of the 2014 Australian Open so far, former number 1 Ana Ivanovic, who has struggled for years, knocked out overwhelming favorite and current number 1 Serena Williams.  Ivanovic made it clear for the very first game that she wasn’t intimidated by Serena and was full of confidence having had a great start to 2014.  But despite playing excellently, she lost the first set 6-4.  However, she remained undaunted and won the next two sets 6-3 to complete the stunning upset.  After the match, Serena said “the secret’s out” after her coach revealed she had tweaked her back in practice, but to be fair to Ivanovic, she played a brilliant match and Serena’s back didn’t seem to trouble her too much during the match.

Li Na Saves Match Point in Huge Comeback

Li Na very nearly suffered a similar fate, but she saved a match point to pull of a stunning comeback against Czech Lucie Safarova.  After a slow start, Li continued to struggle in the second set, and only after Safarova blew a match point by hitting a backhand wide.  Just like that her chance was gone and Li came roaring back, finally playing up to her abilities.  She has twice been to the Australian Open final, losing both times in tough three setters, and won the 2012 French Open.

Del Potro Stunned in Australian Open

Juan Martin Del Potro was stunned by a lower-ranked opponent in the Australian Open for the second straight second, losing to inspired 62-ranked Roberto Bautista Agut.  The Spaniard played a flat, aggressive game that wore down Del Potro, who lost in the second round of his second straight grand slam.  Del Potro stunned the tennis world by winning the 2009 US Open and was tipped to be a future number one.  However, a wrist injury sidelined him for nearly all of 2010, and he has yet to return to those heights since making his comeback from injury in early 2011.

Tennis Players Struggle in Australia’s “Inhumane” Heat

Players struggled with the heat on the second day of the Australian Open, as temperatures soared to 107F, with the temperature inside the court believed to be more than 110F.  Multiple players, including top-ranked American John Isner, retired from matches with injuries, as the brutal heat made it tough to fight on.  Canadian Frank Dancevic even collapsed during his match against Benoit Paire.  After a lot of attention, Dancevic continued, but unsurprisingly lost, in straight sets, and later blasted that making players play in the conditions was “inhumane”.  Chinese player Peng Shuai threw up in heat exhaustion while even a ball boy fainted.  Gilles Simon and Daniel Brands played an insane five set match that ended with Simon winning 16-14 in the final set after over 4-and-a-half hours of playing in over well 100 degrees.