Aussie Open Madness

My long weekend seems to have passed in a blur of Australian Open tennis. Though I haven't played in years, I am an avid fan and I do try to catch some of the action of each Grand Slam (despite the time differences). I must say, I can't recall ever seeing anything that compared to the likes of what happened on "Super Saturday."

Since LA is 19 hours behind Melbourne, the action started here on Friday night. When I turned on the TV, James Blake was down 2 sets to love in his 3rd round match against Sebastian Grosjean. I've always liked Blake, so it was tough to see him struggle like that. Andy Roddick had lost the night before in a 5-setter, so Blake was America's only realistic hope left in the tournament. For him to overcome the 2-set deficit, however, seemed a stretch. History was against him: he'd only won one 5-set match before, and he had never come back from a 2-0 hole. He'd also never beaten Grosjean before. Showing what a fighter he was, however, he turned things around in the 3rd set, bageling his opponent 6-0. The tides turned again in the 4th, when Grosjean mounted a 4-1 lead. The see-sawing continued when Blake broke back twice to force a tie-breaker. Again, Grosjean took a lead, and again Blake persevered, winning the tie-break 7-5 and forcing a 5th set. Phew! Despite all the exciting tennis, fatigue born of a week of irregular sleep caught up with me, and I dozed off. When I awoke, it was to the news that Blake had won! Final score: 4-6, 2-6, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.

The match now in progress was between Roger Federer and Janko Tipsarevic. Who? you say? Well, I hadn't heard of him either, but he sure gave the world's #1 a run for his money. I'm rather fond of Federer because his playing style embodies pure tennis to me. He truly has a complete game, and his one-handed backhand is a thing of beauty. And he doesn't grunt! I find the proliferation of grunting throughout tennis (particularly the ladies' side) decidedly off-putting. But, I digress. The match certainly was a nail-biter! As a fan who'd like to see Federer break Sampras's Slam record, I did not want to see him ousted in the 3rd round here. Down 2 sets to 1, Federer showed his mettle by taking the 4th set in dominant fashion. Before I could breathe a sigh of relief and say, "Ah, he's playing like his old self again," Tipsarevic held strong, and the 5th set plowed ahead with no breaks of serve. Finally, Federer took the set 10-8 (no tie-breaks in the final set at the Australian Open). What drama! A note on Tipsarevic: I think it's cool that he has a line from Dostoevsky tattooed on his arm--"Beauty will save the world." Very poetic. Final score: 6-7 (7-5), 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 6-1, 10-8.

Since the Federer-Tipsarevic match ran nearly 4.5 hours, the evening session was delayed. The match between Venus Williams and Sania Mirza was supposed to have begun at 7:30 PM Melbourne time. Instead, it didn't start till around 10 PM! I watched the first set, which went to a tie-break. It seemed that this was not destined to become another dramatic match, however, as Venus dispatched her opponent 7-0 in the tie-break. As the second set began, I fell asleep again, and when I awoke, it was morning. Surprisingly, live tennis was still being broadcast! Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis were battling it out in the 4th set of their match. They had apparently taken the court after the Williams-Mirza match (final score: 7-6 (7-0), 6-4) and begun play near midnight local time! More than three hours later, they were still pounding it out. Baghdatis, the lovable Cypriot, overcame an ankle injury in the 3rd set and a 5-1 deficit in the 4th to force a decisive 5th set. This was the most dramatic and thrilling match yet, with amazing shots from both sides and a loyal audience still cheering wildly despite the fact that it was the wee hours of the morning. In the end, after 4.75 hours of play, Hewitt emerged the victor at 4:33 AM. It was amazing to have witnessed part of this strange and epic match. Final score: 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7 (7-4), 6-3.

After a marathon like that, I didn't quite know what to do with myself. Go back to sleep? The morning light was too strong, and I still had adrenaline coursing through my veins. My sleeping habits seemed more irregular than ever, and I rather felt like it was going to skew my whole weekend. Yet, I was glad that I'd been part of this Aussie Open madness. I think I finally understand why my sister and brother-in-law go out in the middle of the cold, dark night after Thanksgiving to stand in line for Black Friday shopping. "For the experience," she'd say. And, I realize, also because we all need a little bit of madness in our lives from time to time.