Faute! ~ Tennis in 2010 (Part 1)

I’m going to split this recap of 2010 into several parts, I’ll try squeezing it into 5 parts(1 each for the Grand Slams & 1 part for the Masters). Enjoy!

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! :

The Hard court season is the first part of the ATP/WTA tour calendar & its one of the most exciting seasons as well. There aren’t any Masters 1000 prior to the first Grand Slam of the year, which I find peculiar considering Masters are held before the remaining Grand Slams.

Australian Open 2010 was strange in several ways: Rafael Nadal, the defending champ, lost (retired, to be precise)  to Britain’s Number .1, Andy Murray in the quarters. Murray went on to “choke” at the last leg of the tournament to an in-form Roger Federer, giving Federer his confidence & first Grand Slam since his French Open victory in 2009.

The women’s side was different in the sense that the finals had two Number.1 players & Grand Slam Champs. Serena Williams was the favorite despite her performance against feisty youngster, Victoria Azarenka & Chinese hard-hitter, Na Li (the first was a 3-setter & the second was a tight 2-setter ) .On the other hand, Justine Henin, who came out of retirement (following in the steps of mum Kim Clijsters) was a favorite too, having reached her first final since 2007. The first two sets went to both players while the third was a nail-biter with Williams clinching it, 6-2.

With these victories, Serena successfully defended her title & rank, while Federer’s win allowed him to sneak past Nadal, back to the Number.1 spot.

Coming up,  Clay Court season,watch this space..