On the penultimate day, the old warhorse Leander Paes did the country proud, yet again, with his magnificent showing and lifted the Men's Doubles championship, beating number one seeds — the Bryan brothers from the US (7-6, 6-2). The 38-year-old partnered with Radek Stepanek from Czechoslovakia. The unseeded pair outclassed the number one, two and three seeds on their way to the title. This was the pair’s fourth outing together. The experienced pair covered the court better and returned authoritatively throughout in the final and soon the favourites before the start of the tie were reduced to look like challengers. Top seeds Bryans had virtually no answer and had almost given up by the start of the second set. Paes and Stepanek’s pocket became heavier by 4,54,500 Australian dollars.
In the process, Paes while keeping his unbeaten run intact in 2012 also completed the career Grand Slam. Paes, at the start of the year, had claimed the Chennai Open with yet another partner Janko Tipsarevic.
In his distinguished professional career, Leander has till now teamed up with more than 80 men’s doubles players of varied nationalities, with his partnership with fellow countrymen Mahesh Bhupathi being much talked about. The success rate he enjoys speaks volumes about his adaptability and understanding of the game. That he has not been able to win similar accolades in the singles format does not in any way take away anything from this champion.
Paes, however, could not double the joy and ended runners-up in the mixed doubles category the next day. He and Elena Vesnina went down fighting to Bethanie Mattock-Sands and Horia Tecau 3-6, 7-5 (3-10). Paes could not carry the form into the match and looked a different man in the first set, not holding his serve. The pair fought back and won the second set only to lose the tiebreak to eventual winners.
In the much sought after Men's Singles contest the best was saved till the last. The Prince of Serbia, Novak Djokovic, and the Pride of Spain, Rafael Nadal, faced each other once again in the decider. Roger Federer and Andy Murray had their campaigns cut short in the semifinals only.
There was no doubt Djokovic was in Nadal’s head after beating him six times last in 2011 only and the fact that Nadal was looking to avoid being the first person to lose three finals on the trot had made the world number one Serbian the favourite before the toss.
The only thing worrying for Djokovic was his ability to regroup fast physically and fire all cylinders again after his Four hours, 50 minutes epic semifinal against Andy Murray. Nadal has fought and won heroic matches before, but has had to suffer the most heart-wrenching defeat of his career. He lost 7-5, 4-6, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 5-7. The defeat will certainly rankle Nadal for some time to come for sure.
Djokovic did struggle stamina wise towards the end in the finals but eventually held on longer to claim his third Australian Open trophy, named after the great tennis player Sir Norman Brookes. The epic battle was not only about tennis prowess but many other things like grit, stamina and the power of resilience. Even on those counts there was a very thin line differentiating the two all-time greats. The final was the longest ever tie in Australian tennis history and clocked five hours, 15 minutes, with Novak defending his crown.
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus won the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup following her victory in the Women's Singles. The 22 year-old from Monte Carlo outwitted the experienced Maria Sharapova ruthlessly 6-3, 6-0 in the final. Azarenka ascends to the world number one slot in the latest ATP rankings. Sharapova was no match for the aggressive Belarussian, who had just lost one set before the finals, and lost nine games on the trot. Azarenka became richer by 2.3 million Australian dollars.
