The Philippine Online Chronicles

The epic Australian Open finals match between Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Rafael Nadal of Spain, arguably the greatest finals in tennis singles history, capped off what could be the most exciting Australian Open tournament in a long time.

Not only did we see a six-hour final match, the longest in the Open Era that featured the top two players in the sport, but we were also treated to the awe-inspiring plays of two evenly matched protagonists. Before the historic final though, the semifinal was what every tennis fan hoped for because it featured the top four players in the world today.

Though tennis has yet to emerge as a popular sport in the Philippines, this is a great opportunity to watch what could be the best generation of players in quite a while. What many people don’t realize is that we’re seeing three great players who, in the long run, could end up at least in the top 10 best players of all time.

Barring any injuries from the top 10 players in the sport, what happened in the Australian Open is a good indicator of what’s going to happen in tennis this 2012. Here are the things that we learned after witnessing all that action.

Djokovic is undoubtedly the best player right now

Djokovic put up an amazing 70-6 run while winning three major titles last year making him the best tennis player in 2011 without question. Prior to his unbelievable wining streak, Djokovic had only won one major title. Like the rest of the field back then, he was never considered a threat to the Nadal-Federer rivalry.

Many fans were not sure whether the 24-year old Serbian would be able to replicate his performance last year. Others even thought that his luck would run out and the rest of the top players would eventually expose him.

But then, Djokovic proved all doubters wrong when he was able to bounce back pretty well after a hamstring injury. In the 2012 Australian Open, he dominated his opponents in the opening rounds to enter the semifinals without much difficulty. Though the current world number one struggled against Andy Murray and Nadal in the semifinals and finals, Djokovic was still able to pull off two tough wins to win his fifth major title.

Djokovic has put up an impeccable 7-0 record against Nadal since last year and with the way he’s playing, the Serbian tennis superstar looks like he’s going to continue winning against Nadal, Federer, and Murray especially in the big stage.

Djokovic has an uncanny ability to win even in the toughest situations. For example, he was down 1-2 against Murray after three sets in the semifinal round, but he still managed to win the last two sets to advance to the final. Against Nadal on the other hand, Djokovic was down 2-4 in the fifth set, but he made huge winners to close out the match.

The big question now is whether Djokovic has what it takes to beat Nadal in the French Open, a tournament that Nadal has won six times. Right now, Djokovic and Nadal have faced each other 30 times with Nadal leading at 16-14. Then again, the Serbian seems to know how to win when it matters because he leads Nadal 7-5 in finals matches played.

The Big Four will still dominate

Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, and Murray, also known as the “Big Four” are playing tennis like no one else can at this point. Other players such as David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, and even Andy Roddick might be able to crack the semis of major tournaments once in a while, however, they will have to earn their wins just as long as the Big Four are standing in the way.

Since 2011, Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, and Murray have reached the semifinals 18 out of the last 20 times. With how the Big Four have been dominating in the past two years, it’s difficult to see other players reaching the semifinals much more the finals without facing any members of the Big Four.

Murray has what it takes to win a major title

Of all the members of the Big Four, only Murray has yet to win a major title. Though the 24-year old Brit has shown the ability to beat the Djokovic/Nadal/Federer triumvirate in other tournaments, Murray hasn’t been able to do that when it counts and that means in the final of any Grand Slam tournament. So far, the fourth-ranked Murray is looking for his very first major singles title and also Britain’s very first in the men’s division in 76 years.

Despite being unable to get over the proverbial hump, it’s safe to say that Murray has improved by leaps and bounds after hiring tennis legend Ivan Lendl this year. Against Djokovic in the semifinals, Murray was up 2-1, before the Serbian dug deep to make a huge comeback and defeat the Brit to advance to the final.

Despite not being able to finish Djokovic, Murray showed that he can compete toe to toe against the best tennis player in the world. Though Djokovic won, he needed five sets and almost five hours to eliminate Murray.

Against Djokovic, we saw a confident and mature Murray. He didn’t panic when Djokovic made a rally to close out the match. The thing is, any one of the Big Four can beat each other and with Murray showing signs of maturity, you can expect him to finally win a major title very soon.

Federer hasn’t solved the Nadal puzzle

Federer once again lost against Nadal in the semifinals of the 2012 Australian Open. Right now, Federer and Nadal’s head-to-head matchup stands at 18-9 with the Spaniard comfortably ahead.

Though there’ still a realistic chance for Federer to catch up and perhaps even win another major title, his age and Nadal’s freakish athletic ability are two factors that are quite difficult to overcome.

Nadal’s game is simply tailor-made for Federer’s style of play and that has given the Swiss tennis superstar fits ever since they first faced each other eight years ago.

Another problem that Federer has to deal with is his current ranking. Because Federer is ranked at number three right now, he will always have to face Nadal in the semifinals of every major tournament. Unless Federer can find a way to remove the seed of doubt each time he faces Nadal, the 16-time champion will continue to lose against the Spaniard.

“Tennis Ball [8/52]” by Sleeping Sun c/o Flickr. Some rights reserved.