First off, congratulations to Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Kim Clijsters of Belgium for winning the Australian Open. Djokovic defeated Andy Murray 6-4 6-2 6-3 and Clijsters defeated Li Na 3-6 6-3 6-3. I was relatively surprised by the results of the tournament in particular the men's side. At this time two weeks ago, there was no doubt in my mind that Rafael Nadal was going to win the Aussie Open. He had so much momentum coming in from last season and a minor injury a few weeks prior seemed irrelevant. However, injuries are no surprise with Rafa, so seeing him succumb to a virus, which affected his play against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, was not abnormal.
Not to take credit away from Djokovic, who played masterful tennis throughout the tournament, but the 2011 Australian Open will be remembered for the shortcomings of the top two players in the game: Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Federer fell to Djokovic in straight sets in the semifinals, although all three were closely contested. One has to consider if Federer is dropping off at all. He is not consistently beating top-10 players like he did several years ago and is playing second fiddle to Nadal. Am I saying that Federer will never win a major again? No. Is his window of opportunity quickly closing? Yes. It's remarkable how long he has been at the top of his game, but younger players like Murray and Djokovic are trying to take his place as the game's elite. Djokovic has been one of the top five players in the world for three years, winning the Australian Open in 2008, but has faded in and out at majors with fitness issues and uninspired performances against Nadal and Federer. However, the way Djokovic dismantled Berdych, Federer, and Murray in succession was truly impressive. If Nadal continues to struggle with injuries and Federer keeps falling off, expect Djokovic to be pretty successful from here on out if he can stay fit. Besides, at least he has his girlfriend to fall back on.
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