MELBOURNE, Australia - Whether the Swiss reign continues or not, much of this Australian Open will decide what will happen of the King of Basel. Roger "King" Federer will be aiming for his 3rd straight Australian Open, 4th in all. Also in potential danger will be a grand slam and a grand slam record, which is exactly why, the Australian Open is essential for him. If he rolls over his opponents, the way he did last year, chances are this year, he sense of blood on the red soil will heighten. Also in potential danger is Pete Sampras' grand slam career record of 14. Federer is sitting at 12, and with more than fighting chances of overcoming that in 2008.
Although lately, Federer's rivals have been surprise ones, one name that will constantly haunt Federer Fans will be the Spanish Bull - Rafael Nadal. Though yet to prove his worth on hard surface, Rafa is belligerent, he is persistent, and with piercing top spin on both sides of play, he has given Fedex enough to ponder. Last year's Wimbledon Final was a fine example. To be fair to Rafa, he owned Federer in 3 sets. But like all of his opponents, Rafa choked under Federer's resilience and consistency under pressure. Major factors which will decide the fate of a possible confrontation of the two titans are Is Nadal fit enough ? how well will he attack ? how well Federer defends ? and can Nadal push the envelope ?
Another player worth mentioning would be a surprise/shock to some of you. Marat Safin. Yes, I said it !!! Not Djokovic, not Nalbandian, no way Andy Roddick, not Davedenko, but the player who "can " seriously threaten the Swiss Reign in the tall, moody, angry Russian. The reason I emphasize on "can" is because of reasons more obvious than obvious. He is 28, with moodswings worse than Jack Nicholson in "The Shining". Most of his fans that want him to win grand slams dont exactly believe that he can. Having said that, he is the last person that Federer lost to in Melbourne, which I thought, was one of the best tennis Ive seen. Safin has a complete game (when he doesnt forget to bring it), and with Federer and Safin are in the same side of the draw, there's a possible shoowdown to die for in the semis.
All in all, the coming few weeks will decide whether the Swiss tradition will break, will the Spanish Bull rip through, or run outta gas ?? will the russians show their mettle in crunch matches, or will like always, Davydenko, Safin and co. choke under the Melbourne Sun ?? Updates soon, keep swinging
Zoheb Qureshi.
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