Comment: Survival of the fittest in searing Melbourne

Well that was different. Stanislas Wawrinka, who has been ‘The Other Guy’ from Switzerland for the most part of his career, had never in his previous 12 attempts beaten Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard was in the midst of playing the best tennis of his storied career, having outplayed a resurgent Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

However, all the numbers, all the history defied the outcome of this magical night; the much-awaited 2014 Grand Slam final, which despite being historic was unquestionably a strange encounter. The Swiss thrashed the still world number one 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in a brisk two hours and 21 minutes, opening up with blistering serves and groundstrokes to propel his way to his maiden grand slam.

Nadal’s back injury and the subsequent controversy did not hinder the Spaniard’s professional and inspirational nature. He did not throw in the towel, just as he played most of the tournament with a troublesome blister on his serving hand. He refused to use any ailment as a convenient exit strategy.

And while he tried to claw his way back in the final, Wawrinka and the injury proved too much to overcome as he was unable to serve up to his usual standard and was severely limited in his on-court movement.

After annexing the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup the Swiss kept his humble nature intact, while Nadal accepted his opponent’s excellence and his own physical breakdown.

Even though numbers fail to portray the intensity of a match, they did paint a pretty picture for the Swiss. He out-aced Nadal 19-1 and decimated the Spaniard with 53 winners to 19.

The win was ‘almost a dream’ for the now world number three, and the 28-year-old became the first player ever to beat Novak Djokovic (in a five-set tussle) and Nadal in a Grand Slam tournament.

But no one can or should criticise Nadal, who has an incredible arsenal of tools at his disposal. It is admirable the way he cocks his wrist and bends his knees to such extreme degrees, supported by a punishing, unfair ferocious forehand even when he does not hit it for winners, but uses the technique to wear the other player down. Want your life saved at any point? Nadal would be your go-to guy this year — his resilience proves it.

Meanwhile, in the women’s final, Li Na approached her third Australian Open title; her opponent Dominika Cibulkova certainly had created a chance of causing an upset if she continued with her present form. In their previous four encounters, the Slovakian player had not been able to get past Li.

However, the Chinese overcame a shaky first set when her forehand broke down, but she collected herself and rode her backhand to overcome her opponent 7-6 (7-3), 6-0.

Put a player in a Grand Slam final for the first time and the range of outcomes is vast. Some decide to seize the moment. Li did just that. Although Cibulkova did not win the match, she also continued the momentum of making every important moment count when she ousted Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska. In the final, she simply lost to a superior opponent.

Over the last four years, Li has a 22-3 record at the Australian Open. She has now risen to third in the WTA rankings, only 11 points behind number two Victoria Azarenka. Cibulkova is ranked number 13.

The 31-year-old had given retirement a serious talk about seven months ago, but now she must be grateful of being talked out of it, as she has finally achieved a much-wanted feat.

To wrap it up, rankings have seriously gone hay-wire this year after the tournament saw major upsets. The top seeds were sent packing amidst the sizzling heat; the conditions were termed too ‘in-humane’ to play in. Eventually organisers had to close the stadium roofs — a measure they had not taken in five years.

The writer is a sub-editor at 

The Express Tribune

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2014.

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