Rafael Nadal, the world's top seed, bested his tennis rival, world no. 2 Roger Federer in the hard court of Melbourne. Rafa was just unstoppable in spite of the additional 24 hours lead time that Roger had. The Spanish warrior just keeps on making impossible shots but, Roger also showed great tennis during the second and fourth set which, he won. Rafa was just faster, and a better tennis player last night.
As I watch the re-runs right now, I am still hoping that somehow, the ending would just be different. I love Roger and it sucks that he lost. The Swiss gentleman just wasn't his perfect self last night. He's got a lot of errors. There were a lot of double faults. His service wasn't great although, he managed to pull off around 8 aces. But despite Roger's best efforts, Rafa's fire keeps on getting hotter.
During the awarding ceremony, Roger couldn't contain himself and began sobbing. It definitely hurt. First, the Wimbledon and now, Australia? It definitely hurts. I feel for him and I cried with him last night. "God, it's killing me," says Roger as he takes the stage to address the crowd. The feeling of defeat just overwhelmed him but being the champion and the fighter that he is, it seems that this was just a setback that I am sure he could come out of. "See you next year!"
We will see you again Roger! We will see you back on top!
During the whole match, I can't help but think of Rafa as a school bully who keeps on grabbing the ice cream of the nerdy kid - Roger. The nerdy kid tries to destroy the bully but he just can't. Not in 'highschool', but maybe in college. Maybe in the next major grand slam, Roger can redeem himself. I believe that he could. I believe that Roger could turn back the tables to the way it should be - with him on top.
We will see you again Roger! We will see you back on top!
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This is definitely not the last time that the Spanish warrior and the Swiss gentleman will see each other in the finals. The French Open is the perfect place for redemption. I hope that Rafa and Roger will see each other in the French Open and Roger breaks Rafa's reign as King of the Clay.