Novak Djokovic of Serbia & Kim Clijsters of Belgium are the singles champion of Tennis' first major of the year, the 2011 Australian Open.

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Novak Djokovic increased his men's singles grand slam title, wnning his second Australian Open Singles title after masterfully denying Andy Murray's hope of his own very first grand slam, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

© Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
from Australianopen.com Photo Gallery

Caught the replay over cable with Djokovic leading with a set and a 5 - 0 lead in the second. Murray held serve and broke Djokovic to move to 5 - 2 before Novak held serve to close the set. The third set was competitive and I felt thta Murray is still in it until he failed to held serve in a much contested game that gave Djokovic a 5 - 3 3rd set lead.

Murray, I think, is quite unlucky with a net. Him shanking so many shots while Djokovic was gifted with one. I think it helped Djokovic held serve at 4 - 3 when obviously, Murray was in great position to hit a great return.

With the loss, Murray probably felt much more, albeit unfairly, the weight of Britain, angling for its first men's single grand slam champion since Fred Perry who won in 1936.

Djokovic & Murray both still young can surely vie for more future grand slam titles if they continue to improve. I think Nadal will be injury prone and Federer is not that dominating anymore.

In the women's side, Kim Clijsters never disappointed in her favorite role, ending an amazing and inspiring campaign of Li Na, the first chinese to reach a grand slam singles final in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 finals win.

© Ben Solomon / Tennis Australia
from Australianopen.com Photo Gallery

Clijster came back from a set down to win his 4th grand slam singles title and first Australian Open singles title and her first outside of the US Open.

Unlike Britain, China is probably on a high, after their very own made history and made them proud.

***
I still believe that Federer will win another Australian Open singles title before he retires. :)


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Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-4, at the Australian Open semis, dethroning the defending champ and gave himself a chance of repeating in this tennis grand slam event.


Novak Djokovic at the 2011 Australian Open
Image via flickr - Mo 8910

I was foregoing on blogging about this year's Australian Open for fear of jinxing (again) Roger Federer. But now that it happened, I'm typing this entry with a heavy heart.

After world no. 1 Rafael Nadal was eliminated by compatriot David Ferrer, I was itching to blog that the grand slam is Federer's for the taking.

But Novak Djokovic have plans of his own.

Probably more confident after defeating Federer in the US Open semis last year, Djokovic was steadier in the key moments of their match, defeating Federer in straight sets. In 2008, Djokovic also eliminated Roger enroute to winning the tournament, his only singles grand slam title, so far.

He now awaits the winner of the other semis pitting Andy Murray and David Ferrer.

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NBA Injuries Hinders Championship Dreams

Posted by doms | Monday, January 17, 2011 | ,

Any NBA team or their fans dread to see their players specially their stars donning medical scrubs. It denotes serious injury sidelining the players.

Even if injured players are taken cared of by competent men and women in lab coats & nursing uniforms, it is not good for any nba team. Even if injuries are not serious, it means missing time to play and to practice. That basically disrupts playing chemistry and momentum.

Take the case of Caron Butler of the Dallas Mavericks, seen below donning one of those scrub uniforms instead of his usual jersey. The Mavs are appearing to be a major contender when injury to Butler and then main man Dirk Nowitzki hit them. Nowitzki's recent return did not translate immediately to a victory.


Image from Yahoo! Sports Blog - Balls Don't Lie

Injuries can really affect the way teams achieve their peek form. Just look at the current NBA leader San Antonio Spurs, playing well because their guys are healthy, specially their big three of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker. The much-hyped Miami Heat have strung together a number of wins but tail off with Lebron's injury first and then Bosh. Same with the Celtics who are surviving while fighting off a spate of injuries.

The team who becomes healthy after the all star break going through the playoffs stands a great chance of ending the season with an NBA championship title.

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