“10s Whenever” Newsletter Vol. 121

Written by: Staff on 27th January 2014

Sunset over the Yarra river and on the 2014 Australian Open. Thanks Melbourne, great city see you next year! By Brett Connors Photography. |

Sunset over the Yarra river and on the 2014 Australian Open. Thanks Melbourne, great city see you next year! By Brett Connors Photography.

Last Postcard From Brett Connors: Sunsets On A Crazy Australian Open

Don’t know what to say really after watching the men’s final Sunday night in Melbourne. Except this is what I have been wishing could happen at a grand slam for a while. I know the big 4 have dominated tennis for some time now but I kinda like that idea that more than just 4 guys have a chance coming into a slam to win. And Stan Wawrinka’s 4 set victory over Rafael Nadal proved it could happen. Yes Nadal was not at 100% and you could tell he had hurt himself pretty good, spinning in slow serves and not being able to move at all compared to what we are used to seeing from him. But besides that, Stan was playing great tennis in the first set and if both guys were 100% Nadal probably comes away with that match. But nevertheless when history looks back on the 2014 Australian Open men’s champion it will read Stanislas Wawrinka. I hope that this trend continues in the future, I think having more players who can win slams makes for more rivalries and more story lines. Think about it, the next time Wawrinka faces, Djoker, Berdych and Nadal, they now have more of a history to sell and create interest from. Like Del Po in 09 the underdog winning keeps it interesting and not so predictable, people start to tune out when it’s the same story same outcome every time. And look, no matter what, when Del Po plays a big tournament or slam we have to talk about him being a legitimate threat to win, even if he tanks out early like he did in Melbourne, his slam brings that respect. The same will now go for Wawrinka. More players winning keeps people interested in more of the goings on in tennis, heck I didn’t even know Stan had a daughter until his presser tonight. Because the only time we have looked at Stan before was when he’d play a big four and lost. So now we will get to know more about the new number one Swiss player In the world, and more is better in my opinion.

As for Nadal this is a tough pill to swallow, he had #14 in his hands and the back wouldn’t let him take a firm grip on it. So now what, ok so it pushes him back a slam, probably gets 14 in Paris on the dirt and then is 3 behind Fed. If he can stay healthy he should be able to at least catch Roger, but, as tough as it was to see Rafa struggle through the last 3 sets. You couldn’t help but think that somewhere in Switzerland there’s a guy smiling and is very grateful for young Stanley’s effort Sunday night.

Brett Connors

Twitter: @brett_connors

Instagram: bretterz

Facebook: Brett Connors

www.brettconnorsphotography.com

@bcp #bcp

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