The Djoker Rules!

Epic. Scintillating. Marvellous. Dramatic. Seesaw. Superb. Magnificent. Outstanding. Epic. I can probably go on and on with the platitudes and the Australian Open final played today will deserve all of them. Djokovic and Nadal played out a five-set thriller in front of a sell-out crowd at the Rod Laver Arena and booked their place in history as gladiators who never gave up. The two kept coming at each other like roaring waves from opposite directions. And kept going on until one man capitulated and let the other raise the trophy. And justly so. For once, I did not want either man to lose. Djokovic, along with the semifinal against Andy Murray, was on court for a combined ten hours. The final itself lasted close to six hours. And then there was Nadal, unwilling to give up on a single point, chasing down every single ball until his weary body and mind cried 'No more!' and just gave up. Nadal is made up of the sternest stuff but even this herculean battle proved to be too much for his rickety knees and that dodgy ankle. After six hours of breathtaking tennis, there had to be a winner. And the Serbian world No.1 proved to be that lucky man. Matches like this come once in a while. The longest Grand Slam final in history (the previous was the 1988 US Open between Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl), the longest Australian Open final (the previous was the 1988 one between Pat Cash and Lendl again), the longest match in Australian Open history (the previous was the 2009 semifinal between Nadal and Fernando Verdasco) -- I am sure these aren't the only ones. The heartbeats and heartaches, the nails bitten, yells, groans, screams, celebrations, the match had it all and in such great measure. I'm still in a different zone. I'm still awestruck, marvelling at the superhuman strength, physical prowess and mental strength of these two men. They are only 24 and 25 years of age. But they have conquered the sport, and the world, with their exquisite talent and never-say-die attitude. As Ravi Shastri would have remarked, tennis was the winner today. Song of the Day: Superman (It's Not Easy) -- Five For Fighting