The Finals Nobody had Ever Thought of....

Just a fortnight back nobody would have ever thought of such an Unpredictable Finals. Anticipations were already in favor of an Federer Djokovic Finals , with Nadal withdrawing from the US Open due to injury. But destiny had something other in store for our Top 2 seeds. Both Federer and Djokovic faltered against two very determined players.

Such is the domination of the Top 3 in this past decade that finally, after almost 38 Grand Slams we have Neither Federer , Nadal or Djokovic. It was Australian Open 2005 , where Marat Safin had defeated Hewitt in the finals.
The absence of Federer or Djokovic from the finals has been very shocking among the tennis fans all over whereas it also gives a reason to believe that its time for the next Generation to take over from its peers. It would be very interesting to see whom among Kei and Marin would have the edge and the ability to handle the hullabaloo of the First Grand slam finals. Both the players have had their share of difficulties in reaching the finals and its just sheer determination and the mental toughness that has had been a part of their wins.

Kei had to fend off Milos Raonic in the 4th round in a tough 5-setter and avenged his loss at Wimbledon this year. Next up was the reigning Australian open Champion Stanislas Wawrinka. All had been in the view of a Wawrinka- Djokovic Semifinals , but Kei Nishikori went against all odds to announce his arrival on the big stage. This was considered a litmus test  for Kei as it was a very demanding match in terms of physical ability and as nobody would have expected Nishikori won it again in 5 sets. The next was an uphill task of coming over the world no.1 , Djokovic. No body had ever thought of Nishikori to be in the finals. Nishikori has given us ample of reasons to believe that he has it in him to be alongside the top of Men's Tennis. He is resilient , determined and focused on performing at the later stages of the Grand Slams.





On the Other side the net would be the one time world top 10 player and big serving Marin Cilic. The Croat has been through very rough times the past year facing a 4 month ban for suspected drug enhancement in October last year. Cilic has been consistent enough in overcoming difficult opponents. Be it the big serving Kevin Anderson or Tomas Berdych , a commendable opponent. Marin Cilic has had completed ease in defeating Tomas Berdych and Roger Federer in straight sets.
It took just over an hour to defeat Roger Federer in the semis. He has been very strong with his serves and is completely aware of the opportunity
 here in the finals.

Off Late , it has been a battle of Coaches alongside the players. There is Edberg ( Federer's Coach ) , Boris Becker ( Djokovic's Coach ) and again here today we have Micheal Chang ( Kei Nishikori's Coach ) along with one of the great servers of all time Goran Ivanisevic ( Marin Cilic's Coach ).
It would be very exciting to watch a new Champion in making. Both the players are determined to win their Debut grand Slam. Nishikori's strength is his physical ability and mental toughness to come back from behind to beat his opponent. His Solid ground strokes with perfect placements makes his opponents play that very extra bit to return it back. Cilic, on other hand has a Strong service game and would really love to bank on his serves. Its a matter of who among both would thrive on the opportunity of breaking other's serve. With Micheal Chang on his side , Nishikori would give cent percent in creating History of becoming the First Male Asian Grand Slam champion. The Pairing of the Croats Ivanisevic and Cilic , would try to create what Ivanisevic himself could not achieve, of winning the US Open.

Guys , Come Tuesday morning and we would have a New Champion.
Match starts , 0230 hrs IST ( 09/09/2014 )......
So Guys, who all up tonight for witnessing History in Making.

The Slam of Asia Pacific : Australian Open 2014 Predictions..

Any transformation leads to new aims and ambitions and it was so rightly proved as Andy Murray won the Wimbledon last year creating history to become the only English man to win The Championships in the Open era. The 2013 ATP Tour would be remembered as a year truly filled with emotions and surprises. It was history being created at every Slam.

To start off the season in a fabulous manner, Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open for the 3rd consecutive time becoming the only man in The Open era to do so. Next in line was Nadal, who proved critics wrong for writing him off after a 7 month injury setback, by winning the French Open 2013 for the eighth time followed by Andy Murray who had a chance to prove the world, why he was not to be considered a One Slam Player. It was one of the Most decorated performance of the year, defeating Novak Djokovic in the Finals in straight sets. The year was filled with upsets too as both Nadal and Federer bowed out of Wimbledon at very early stages.The season ended as it started, when Novak Djokovic regained his lost form to win the ATP World Tour Title, in fact defending it.
New Year brings along with it new challenges and expectations. Novak Djokovic is going to get ready for the first slam of the year with his new collaboration with Boris Becker, beside him it would be interesting to watch any change in Federer's game with the help of Stefan Edberg, considered as one of the best serve and volley players of all time.
This brings us to yet another Season of scintillating tennis and many more surprises.The 2014 ATP season has started off very well as Rafael Nadal won his first title of the season at Doha, whereas Roger Federer reached the finals of Brisbane International.
I would like to make few Predictions for the Slam of Asia Pacific, regarded as The Happy Slam.

1. The Resurgent Rafa :

Rafa's 2013 season has been regarded by many as the best ever comeback by any player in the Open Era, not only just because he overcame a 7 month injury lapse but also regained the No.1 ranking inspite of an early Wimbledon loss. Rafa produced a 75-7 , win loss record with a total of 10 titles in the season. Coming into 2014 , it would not be wrong to predict Rafa as the winner of the first Slam of the year as he is completely charged, confident winning the first title at Doha this year and critically most important, he needs to prove himself at Australian Open , a Slam where he had the opportunity of winning only once and which slowly and steadily is being labeled as Novak's Den.

2. The Courageous Novak :

The rivalry between Novak and Rafa reached new heights at the semifinals of French Open last year. It would be seen by many as the best match of 2013. Djokovic won the Australian Open for the third straight year and in the process became the only man to do it in the open era. He finished the year on high by winning 4 consecutive titles at Beijing , Shanghai , Paris and London. Having added Boris Becker in his team, it would be very fascinating to look out for results at the Australian Open. Novak would be vying to make history at Australian Open this time if he wins the title thereby becoming the only man to win 5 Australian Open in the Open era. In short, stakes are very high on Novak winning Australian Open this year, because he has given us enough reasons to show case his strength ,ability and mental fitness to take on the rest.

3. The Rejuvenated Federer :

Federer could be considered as a surprise package in contention for the title. Getting Stefan Edberg on board for this season, Roger has given us a hope of getting the orthodox serve and volley back into the main stream which is rightly said blissful to watch. Federer, already considered to be one of the all time great would be upbeat and optimistic in reaching the latter stages of the Australian Open, taking into account the magnitude of other players coming up. Roger's 2013 season might go down as his worst performance ever with a 45-17 win loss record. Starting off 2014 with a final appearance at Brisbane International, Roger would put all of us in a nostalgic mode once again by claiming the title for the fifth time and giving us a glimpse of hope for Wimbledon.

Andy Murray , coming off a 4 month break from the tour has been a bit sluggish after a 2nd round exit at Doha this year and it would take time for the World no.3 to get back into his rhythm for the Australian Open, but could spring a surprise by striking at the right moment.David Ferrer having reached the finals of a Slam for the first time at the Roland Garros last year could well possess a threat in contest for the title. There are others who also have the talent and guts to take on top players. Juan Martin Delpotro is one of them, who would be regarded as the dark horse in the race for the title. Stan Wawrinka proved to be nemesis for Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open 4th round last year and also at the US Open. Wawrinka reached the semis of the ATP world tour on his debut and has also retained the Chennai Open title this year, considering all this he could be jolted in the journey towards the title for the Top players.
The main draw will be released tomorrow on the 10th of January, this would make it more clear about who would be the dark horse of the race for the Championship

Being an ardent Novak Djokovic fan, I would bet on him for the title this year at Australian Open, with due respect to Rafa and Roger , it could well be a thrilling ,exhilarating and hopefully phenomenal Slam to remember.