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Roger Federer and Serena Williams win the first Grand Slam of the season
The first rackets of the world ranking, Swiss Roger Federer and American Serena Williams, confirmed their high status by winning the first Grand Slam tournament this season - the Australian Open. Contrary to predictions, both winners went to three sets. Federer defeated Scotsman Andy Murray - 6:3, 6:4, 7:6 (13:11). A day earlier, the black tennis player defeated the Belgian Justine Henin - 6:4, 3:6, 6:2.For Federer, this victory was the fourth at the Australian Open (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010), for Williams Jr. - the fifth (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010). The Swiss regained the championship title three years later. Serena became the best in Melbourne for the second year in a row.
Before reaching the final, Federer lost only two sets at the current Australian Open, both to Russian tennis players Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko. Murray advanced to the decisive round with an even more confident step: in the semi-final, the Scot gave the only game to the Croatian Marin Cilic.
The psychological confidence of the players played a decisive role in the key match. And if she didn’t let Federer down, Murray faltered. For the first two sets, the Scot was in the role of catching up. In the third he took the lead and led 5:2. It seemed that the Swiss would save his energy for the key period of the game. However, this did not happen. Federer was able to restore the status quo and brought the duel to a tiebreaker. But at the end of the match, Murray had all the trump cards to change the course of the game. But Federer, as he later admitted, had one of the best fights of his career.
After the final, Murray, enslaved on the court (one could only guess what kind of psychological pressure was put on the tennis player, because even the Prime Minister of Scotland admonished the player) gave free rein to his emotions and could not hold back his tears. Federer, who took the floor after him, asked Murray for forgiveness for the offense he had caused. “I feel like I’m on the moon,” then blurted out the happy Federer, who not only won his first victory this season, but also his first in his new capacity as a father. This is the 16th title that the Swiss has earned in tournaments of the prestigious series. And his current success will certainly inspire him to new achievements.
As for the women's final, in which Williams Jr. faced Justine Henin, after the match the Belgian admitted that she felt upset. “When you lose a Grand Slam final, what emotions can you have? Moreover, there were chances that I did not take advantage of. But disappointment is not the main feeling. Still, I achieved a lot in these two weeks, but I couldn’t take the last step,” Henin said.
This was the first final of the first and former world number one in the decisive round of a Grand Slam tournament. Until this moment, the athletes had never met on the court in the final match of the competition of this series. The chances of both tennis players were approximately equal, but the American woman’s powerful serve, her self-confidence and better physical shape played a key role. Serena overturned the unfavorable statistics for herself and won in Melbourne for the second time in a row. Based on the number of victories won (12) at Grand Slam tournaments, the American became the most titled athlete in the history of modern tennis, having crossed the $30 million prize money mark.
But for Henin, who has seven victories in such competitions, reaching the final can be considered an undoubted success. Having received a wild card from the organizers of the Australian Open, the Belgian, who returned to the court this season after a break, reached the decisive round, confirming her reputation as one of the leaders in world women's tennis.
Speaking about the unrealized chances in the final, the Belgian did not lie. At the junction of the second and third games, the American lost 15 rallies in a row, and the match could have gone according to a different scenario. However, this circumstance did not discourage Serena at all. She had the first set won, and statistics show that if an American starts a match with a victory, she eventually tips the scales in her favor.
Previously, Williams Jr. won the Australian Open in odd-numbered years. This year the tradition was broken. After the final, the athlete admitted that she did not know whether she would be able to win in Melbourne next year. “I would be calmer if I lost or lost in the semi-finals because it would mean that I will win next year. But now I don’t know if I can win next year,” Serena concluded.
The only representative of Russia, Ekaterina Makarova, who participated in the final of the Australian championship in a duet with the Czech Jaroslav Lewinski, was unable to win the prestigious trophy. The Russian-Czech pair lost to the first seeds Kara Black and Leander Paes with a score of 5:7, 3:6.