Coming of a legend (and fading of another?)
Australian Open Final 2009 Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer - 7-5 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-2 It could be billed as a bout between extremes - young vs old, style vs substance, brains vs brawn. As it turned out, it was a great advertisement for substance; as brawn prevailed over brains(not implying that Nadal's game doesn't have its own subtlety). Nadal's winning his first grand slam on hard court, on the heels of his first-ever grass court grand slam win at Wimbledon last year, added to his implausibly brilliant record on clay has the feeling of a defining moment in tennis history. This is the point from where he can go from being the best player of his time, to becoming the best player of all time. I know, its too soon. But he is just 22. He has a lot of time to improve his already awesome game. And playing against (not to mention beating regularly) a legend like Federer can only help his cause. This was a good match. Not quite an epic, but surely one to be remembered as the one...