Who do you love?

Listening to: Radio 1

So I just finished watching a spectacular game of tennis. So spectacular that half way through, I called Sri Lanka and woke my father up from his mid-afternoon slumber to tell him to turn on the TV. I mean it's not often you get to say -

"Nadal's 4-love down in the second set against some random Aussie teenager!"

Needless to say, my father responded with an emphatic "oh my god!"...which obviously made my mother panic 'cos she thought we were talking about something life-threatening. My father and I are 'silly people', apparently. Tee hee.

But anyway, the 6-2 7-5 6-3 scoreline doesn't do justice to the 3rd round Aussie Open battle between world #1 Rafael Nadal and 18 year old wildcard Bernard Tomic. Tomic was a joy to watch - so calm, determined and fluid...and totally unruffled by the legendary powerhouse at the opposite end of the court. Most experienced players would lose faith after a 2-6 first set loss, but not this kid. He kept going until the final point. I look forward to seeing more of him - he has the talent, the ability and the tenacity to make it big one day. Apparently he has a bit of an unsavoury off court attitude...but I'll answer that with two words: John McEnroe.

As for Rafa...well admittedly today wasn't his best game ever. Although I'm not sure how much of that was just due to him (and everyone watching) being surprised by the fight from his opponent. He did have some brilliant shots here and there, but I'm a bit disturbed by his first serve (especially during the 2nd set)...pretty sluggish and not very accurate. Though to be fair, he was sweating like mad. I think the shirt count was at 4 by the end of the 3 sets...and he changed again before his (hilarious) post-match interview with Jim Courier. Still, plenty of photo opportunities for the ladies in the crowd *wolf whistle*.

My reaction to today's match was, perhaps, unusual for a self-confessed Rafa fan. You would expect me to be upset that he didn't walk all over Tomic. After all, that's what every fan hopes for, right? Not necessarily. The game will only survive if the next generation of players poses a real threat to the current greats. While that threat is not good news for Rafa, it's excellent news for tennis. And yes I love Rafa, but I love tennis.