Serb & Volley

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 1^st 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.