Djokovic won his fifth Aussie Open. As in their
previous recent major matches, it was closely contested at the start with
numerous breaks of serve. At 0-2 in the third set, the Serb looked shattered,
but found his second wind & it was Murray who finished limply. Of course
reaching the final was no mean feat, but the finish to the match will cause
the Scot considerable angst.
Perhaps his most wounding recent defeat prior to today was
the drubbing inflicted on him by Federer at the 02 in November. The Swiss
became only the third man to pass 1000 victories when he won the Brisbane title.
In Melbourne though he lost to Seppi for the 1st time in 11
meetings. This seems to be a recurring
theme in the latter part of Federer’s career –his sole loss to Robredo was at
the 2013 US Open.
Another sporting landmark was made by the cue genius Ronnie
O’Sullivan, passing Hendry’s mark for century breaks. He won the UK title in
December, & made the semis of the
Masters in the process of breaking the
record.
Seattle and New England contest the Superbowl tonight. In
the championship games, Green Bay blew it, while Denver didn’t blow up the
balls (allegedly). The Packers fumbled an onside kick to blow their lead. The
Broncos were accused of deflating their (offensive) set of balls to make catching
passes easier.
Amir Khan surprised me in December by totally outboxing
Devon Alexander with impressive discipline & skill. He would love a
megafight, but Pacquiao & Mayweather will most likely look for more
lucrative fights elsewhere.
