Heading into the Australian Open, I cringed at the thought of Andy Murray walking away with the title. I just don’t like him. He plays well but he just isn’t fun to watch. So you could just imagine my excitement in knowing that he was taken out by little known Fernando Verdasco, a fellow Spaniard and left-hander to Nadal.
Then he beat Tsonga too. I caught the latter half of that match and I couldn’t believe what I saw. Verdasco looked like a smarter, hardcourt-tuned Rafa Nadal complete with that booming topspin forehand, excellent mobility, and two things Rafa doesn’t have — a profound netgame and a Roddick-like serve. At his best points, he looked liked a Rafa/Roger hybrid or at least an elder Nadal (Rafa’s moves without the stress). This guy is too good to be true. When Rafa won over Gilles Simon, I was already cheering for Verdasco.
The logic behind was simple: If he lost I was still happy. Vamos Rafa!
So I really looked forward to that Friday afternoon as if nothing else in the week mattered. I was expecting nothing less than a five-set match and well, I got something more: five sets of the most awesome tennis I’ve ever seen. Even better than Wimbledon, I dare say. There is no question that the better man won, but Verdasco was never really too far behind. It all boiled down to mental toughness and I don’t think anyone would doubt Rafa’s.
I hope Fernando Verdasco continues playing like this. He’ll need more big match experience to calm those nerves but his game is way up there. I hope he breaks into the top five. I look forward to a French Open rematch. And on his way, can he dispatch Roger Federer too? I’d like to see their styles meet and you can be sure I’ll have my money on the Spaniard.
Check out this video of the craziest point in the entire game. I have never seen a standing ovation for a single point before.
