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by Prip After the drama that was the last few days of the Australian Open, the final match of the tournament seemed somewhat of a letdown, with Arnaud Clement falling in straight sets to defending champion Andre Agassi. It wasn't that Arnaud had simply been out of his league with the match: the Frenchman has already chalked up 2 wins against Andre. It wasn't that Arnaud was overwhelmed by the occasion either (he later said that he mostly felt that this was just another match). Instead, the mettle and class of a true champion won Andre Agassi his third Australian Open and seventh Grand Slam title, tying him with the likes of Mats Wilander and John McEnroe. He simply stepped up the level of his game for the big occasion, and did what he had to do. Arnaud didn't seem too worse for wear from his big semifinal match against best friend Sebastien Grosjean. In fact, he seemed to be putting more effort into his backhand, which had been a sort of Achilles' heel in his previous match. Throwing his full body weight (all of 5'8" and 142 pounds) into the shot, lifting him off the ground, he definitely was there to contend for the title. He got one break back from being a double-break (1-4) down in the first set, but had used up all his miracles and couldn't get the second break back. Pushed by the sudden resurgence of his opponent and wary of the damage that could be done, Andre stepped up his game in the second set, and just totally out-played Arnaud. He took the second set 6-2 before the Frenchman would even need to wipe his prescription glasses. Talking about glasses, Arnaud has one of the worst cases of astigmatism among professional tennis players, and must have been glad to play in the bright sun so that he could keep them unlike in his previous match. The glasses must certainly have helped a lot, as his service returns, especially in the third set, were absolutely fantastic, good enough to make Andre's seem mediocre. Feeling the pressure to come up with a big first serve, Andre's own first serve percentage dropped down to only 50%, and giving him only a 59% winning percentage. The first game of the third set turned out to be a mini-match in itself. As his custom, Arnaud had changed into a new shirt, bright red this time, and the audience, sensing a possible junction in the match, tried to carry him to a third set victory. All spirits were immediately dampened, though, when Andre took a few quick points to hold 2 break points. With most of the audience throwing what little French they knew in to push the 15th seed on, Arnaud saved one, then two break points. What ensued would be the closest thing to tension in the entire match, with the game going to 5 deuces and Arnaud holding 3 game points, but once again, consistency, or the lack thereof, became the fall of him and Andre got the break to open the third set. Yet again, Arnaud reminded the world not to count him out. Throwing himself more furiously at his backhand, Arnaud got 2 break points of his own in the very next game, and aptly enough, his biggest weapon -- his speed -- won him the point. Andre had gotten a good serve in, then ran Arnaud from one corner or the court to the other, followed by a drop-shot. Arnaud got there in plenty of time, and carefully got the down-the-line winner. And so the third set would once again stand even between the two players. Arnaud showed few signs of fatigue, and was managing to run around more backhands than ever. But miracles were not meant to be for him today, and once again, Andre stepped up his game to quickly finish off the match. He leapt to a 5-1 lead, and then almost relaxed to let Arnaud get one more game off his serve, before wrapping the match up 6-4 6-2 6-2. His reaction could hardly be described as a reaction, and Andre turned to his coach, trainer and girlfriend, pulling his cap off, saying nothing and yet saying everything with his eyes. Four years and four Grand Slam titles ago, he hadn't even dared to dream about what he had just done. Not disappointed in the least with himself, Arnaud acknowledged that he had simply come up against a player that was playing too good, and had his cute, sheepish-looking, puppy-dog smile on his face. Looking like a little boy in a fantasy world made of chocolate and candy, Arnaud instead had a bigger worry now that his match was over -- what in the world was he going to say in English. Well prepared for the biggest moment in his career, Arnaud had spent some time preparing and writing down a short speech -- two pages short. Andre might have won the match 6-4 6-2 6-2, but Arnaud had certainly won the crowd, and endeared himself to all those around him, Andre Agassi included. Andre had a few words of encouragement for him (which Arnaud later admitted to not having a single clue as to what Andre was talking about), as did Paul McNamee in presenting him with the runner's-up trophy. And then the world saw a side of Arnaud only the French knew up till then -- the goofy, lovable guy with priceless facial expressions and sense of humour. Speaking in halting English, he thanked everyone from his family to his coach, from the spectators to the ballkids (for being a little too demanding). Considering the fact that he feels as uncomfortable speaking English as do most people speaking French (Arnaud later described his experience as similar to being a blind man: he had absolutely no idea what was going on around him, and had to "feel" his way through everything but knew that everything felt good), he did admirably well, and not only will he be in for an experience enough to rival this when he shows up for Roland Garros this May, he has guaranteed himself Australian crowd support for the rest of his life. In the mixed doubles final, Corina Morariu finally got her birthday present, and took the title very convincingly against Barbara Schett and Joshua Eagle. Joshua and Barbara had performed at less than 100%, but nothing can take away the confidence that Corina is gaining as the year goes on. In fact, Corina had done everything but make her partner Ellis Ferreira sign a contract promising to give his 100% in their matches. With their success here, the pair have decided to carry on their partnership for the year, as long as they're having fun on the court. In the junior tournament, Yugoslavia enjoyed a double-victory, as both the top seeds came through convincingly in their matches. Janko Tipsarevic, after coming close to an early exit in the second round against Sasa Tuksar, had never had trouble after that, and had almost appeared to drop a set in his previous matches as a sort of extra challenge. He took the final set 6-0 after dropping the first set 3-6 against Wang Yeu-Tzuoo of Taipei to grab his second title in as many weeks. In the girls' draw, Jelena Jankovic's consistency got her through her matches handily, including her final match against surprise finalist Sofia Arvidsson, but from what I've seen, will still need quite some time before making the transition. In the boys' doubles, Giovanni Lapentti and Frank Dancevic couldn't pull through against Ytai Abougzir and Luciano Vitullo, and lost 6-4 7-6(5) against the unseeded pair. The top seeds in the girls' doubles draw, Petra Cetkovska and Barbora Strycova, just managed to get through against Anna Bastrikova and Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6(3) 1-6 6-4. All in all, the first Grand Slam of the millennium delivered more than anyone had expected of it. With record crowd attendances and record-breaking champions, the Australian Open establishes itself more and more among the other three Grand Slams events as each year passes. And thus is the Aussie way. |