Australian Open Men's Tennis Championship - Djokovic vs. Nadal (Djokovic winner)

With six consecutive wins over Nadal Novak Djokovic came into the Australian Open Final full of belief and with quality that would have Nadal bamboozled at least once a game.

Nadal however showed that his spirit and sheer quality under pressure can only create a year of tennis to behold.

No.1 vs No.2 are usually special affairs but the two best players created a spectacle worthy of the 1am bedtime the Australian fans were treated to.

A fantastic respectful Australian crowd were treated to a thumping first set that had Nadal come out on top 7- 5. A dogged affair saw power triumph over the delicate and accurate Djokovic who pushed Rafa back on many of his first serves.

The second and third set continued with the same quality as Djokovic continued his ability to pressure Nadals serve thus taking control of points and ultimately making Nadal gaze in amazement at pin point winners.

Djokovic’s energy was terrific and his talent to return the ball deep shone as Nadal was made to work for every point he won. Ultimately Djokovic’s quality was too much and Nadal was blasted away 6 – 4. 6 – 2.

Djokovic made is look comfortable but it really wasn't and Nadal looked frustrated at history repeating itself.

The fourth set saw Nadal find new energy. Djokovic miss three break points while at 4-4 and an interruption in the way of an unexpected shower and roof closure. From that moment on Djokovic looked tired and lumbered, Nadal on the other hand pumped his fist at every given opportunity and looked like he was ready for revenge. His tenacity and quality shone from the moment he stepped back on the court and despite Djokovic’s ability on his own serve Nadal survived the gauntlet of a tie break to win the fourth set and celebrate like he has won the title.

Far from waking Djokovic up the fifth and final set began with the ball in a focussed Nadal’s hand. His torrent of attacking brutal tennis continued and the tables were turned as Djokovic reeled on his own serve. Djokovic looked out of energy and out of ideas as he served at 2 – 3, Nadal capitalised with a brilliant display of relentless aggression and accuracy to take a 4 – 2 lead. At this point Djokovic began waking up and was handed an opportunity to galvanize his mental strength when Nadal missed a simple passing winner pushing the ball fractionally wide of the line. At this point a purposeful Djokovic closed down the game and instantly broke his opponent back.

Again the match swung and a quiet, heel dragging Djokovic remembered his early form to push Nadal wherever he so chose. The unforced errors had left Djokovic’s game and Nadal was back to chasing and defending.

At 5 -5 and surviving a break point the fist pumping returned to the Spaniard however this time Nadal showed his passion to the referee when he heard the next point called “out” by a fan, Nadals return on the ball (which was in) should have been better and the same could be said for the next point as Djokovic broke the Spaniard and amazingly left himself serving for the championship.

His previous faultless serving game continued as the calm Serbian served well placed first serves and calm returns. 

Nadal looked energized and concentrated and this paid off as he pulled the game to 30 – 40 but ultimately ending up at deuce. At deuce Djokovic deserved his slice of luck as Nadal’s return struck the net to give him advantage, he duly took control on the next shot winning the Australian Open title in 5 hours and 53 minutes and ripping off his shirt in delight.

A fantastic match to set up a most likely brilliant season; the best player won on the day and Nadal is going to have to find a way to deal with Djokovic's deep returns and flat accurate shots; 5 sets doesn't seem enough of an advantage any more.

Djokovic - Nadal 

            5 - 7                         

            6 - 4

            6 - 2

            6 - 7 (Tie break 5 - 7 )

            7 - 5

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 – 3 Aston Villa (21/01/2012)

Sighs from both sides showed the fans know best as a cautious Aston Villa team came out with all three points thanks to the player that had Wolves fans fearing the worst.

Starting brightly Villa looked offensive and full of purpose; some loose passes from either side allowed some younger players to settle and the opening goal from a penalty on ten minutes delivered a black country present to the claret and blues.

Darren Bent did well to win the penalty and score the first goal, but it was a gift that he literally stole from the foot of Berra who went to kick the ball but instead connecting with Bents foot as he nipped in the steal the last touch.

Full of confidence some managers may have continued to push with a high midfield and linking Irishman but Aston Villa showed nerves and panic as they protected their lead and spent the next 35minutes pinging balls over Keane’s head. Clearly nobody had bothered to do their homework as an insightful Wolves went about slicing the Aston Villa defence apart and pulling their players from their positions thus allowing space past midfield and on the wings.

Clark at left back found Kightly impossible to track and was given no support by a disappointing Agbonlahor; Kightly made the most of his space and showed why the Wolves fans have been holding out so much hope for the injury prone winger. The warnings were not heeded and Kightly spent 45 minutes skipping past defenders, delivering quality crosses and corners and finding the back of the net. His lovely equalising goal for Wolves had a Villa backline stationary and full backs scrambling, Given couldn’t get down quickly enough and Kightly duly drove across the defence and found the corner of the net with a low curling shot.

The warning signs kept coming for the Villa as an excellent Kightly caused them problems in open play and serious issues from set pieces; ultimately Albrighton’s clearance off the line fomr a Wolves corner was an omen as Edwards headed the ball into the net from a Roger Johnson corner flick on. Wolves could have been 4 – 1 up at half time but they would have to settle for 2 – 1 as a beleaguered Aston Villa traipsed off the pitch with no doubt a managerial tirade coming their way.

Wolves came out unchanged but McLeish made a brave move by taking off Agbonlahor and putting on Warnock to quell the danger of Kightly. Clark goes to midfield, Albrighton to the left and Gardner moves to right wing. The second half starts the same with Aston Villa giving the ball away and Wolves teasing them with possession play.

In truth the second half didn’t really start for the Villa until Keane took control and Frimpong came off after Petrov kicked him in the eye; diving headers are for the brave. Keanes stunning on the turn shot curled past Hennesey and the Irishman bowed his head to the supporters as a gesture of respect. It was a great goal only surpassed by his stunning second and winner in the 84^th minute. Once again he showed great respect to the fans even after controlling the ball beautifully and lashing the winner into the net from 25yards.

Throughout the game Wolves played well but the problems at Aston Villa were evident; their fortune today came in the shape of two excellent solo strikes, the injury of Frimpong and the 76^th minute sending off of Henry for a stamp on Marc Albrighton.

Petrov played slow backward football, Gabby was ill (for the last 5 games perhaps) and Collins and Hutton made every attempt to give Wolves all the space and time they needed.

McCarthy was no doubt gutted that he took nothing; clearly today luck was against him and very much for the Villa. 

Wigan Athletic 0 - 1 Manchester City (16/01/2012)

A typically confident Martinez stood proudly as his Wigan team stepped onto the pitch to battle a strong Manchester City team; with Man City needing a win to pull clear again Wigan faced an uphill battle in a top vs. bottom clash..

As the game began Wigan seemed off the pace and in the 4th minute saw a glimpse of things to come when Dzeko, who was strong in the air all night headed just past the post. The away team only needed to wait until  the 22nd minute for him to make up for that miss when an excellently placed glancing header flashed past Al-Habsi and found its way into the corner of the net. 

Martinez will no doubt be furious as a smart Dzeko was allowed to wander about ignored and come back from an offside position just before the set piece from Silva was struck. 

This ultimately gave him the edge over the Wigan defenders who were mostly looking forward unable to see where Dzeko was going to spring from; a great ball made things even simpler but a brilliant headed nonetheless.

After that Wigan used the ball well but some good covering play meant they were relying on individual skill and not team support. Moses caused the Man City back line the most trouble and regularly used his pace and strength to manoeuvre past opposition players, Rodallega however seemed frustrated at the lack of quick return balls but added very little when he did get the ball at his feet.

The game became very open in the second half and this was almost Wigan's undoing; an annoyed Aguero danced through the Wigan defence before Dzeko stole his shot and tested Al-Habsi with a limp effort; Mancini also had a part to play when Figueroa misjudged a header on the half way line and proceeded to stop the ball with his hand. Mancini threw his arm in the air suggesting the ref should have given a red; he might have been right but it really wasn't his place to say.

Al-Habsi made a string of saves throughout the match and showed why a few clubs were after him at when the season began; he definitely wasn't helped by Caldwell who gave the ball away on a number of occasions.

Wigan tested Man City throughout the second half with a battling display or pressing football and brilliant determination but the link that allowed them to play past the high line; or dropping attackers didn't really pay in the final third and crosses either hit the first defender or were hit low. 

Stam could have changed the game for the home team but blew his opportunities to put the ball in early or kept hitting the first defender. 

The introduction of Watson and Di Santo pushed Man City back further with the latter looking cumbersome and poor in the air; Watson controlled the midfield well and was at the heart of many late quality Wigan moves; McManaman came on late and also showed he had some ability with simple passing and good drive with the ball.

Ultimately this was Man City's day; Wigan played well but need someone to help the ball into the box if they are going to stay in the Premier League, Man City of course showed everyone that in any given moment they can turn defence into attack, especially with Aguero on the pitch but the loss of Toure is one Man City are struggling to come to terms with; this weekends game against Tottenham should be fascinating but for now Mancini will be happy he left the DW with all 3 points.

Newcastle United 1 - 0 QPR (15/01/2012)

Mark Hughes was the centre of attention but two less popular sorts in Best and Guthrie made his first game in charge a little harder than he'd have liked.

QPR started brightly but lacked midfield support and found themselves with early chances but nothing to show from them. They hit the woodwork twice in the first half and pushed on well; unfortunately a lot of their attacks came from a quick Shaun Wright Phillips carrying the ball, or some excellent but lofty passes by Buzsaky; this allowed Newcastle to get back into position and while they were threatened never looked too concerned after the early flurry, especially with an excellent Krul behind them.

Shaun Derry's slow witted tackle on Cabaye saw the midfielder injured and this was the future of Derry's game. He looked off the pace throughout and this created time for the Newcastle players to eventually take control of the game. 

Jamie Mackie looked in excellent form and continued to make strong runs through the centre of midfield, unfortunately at times the rest of his team acted like onlookers rather than supporting players and by this time Guthrie came into his own and silently closed and broke down many QPR attacks.

In the 37th minute a solid Taylor dug the ball out with a nice pass and Leon Bests well taken goal sent Paddy Kenny the wrong way. 

QPR had better use of the ball in the first half but once again the fortress that was St James Park stayed firm. The second half saw QPR continue to play attacking football but Ameobi managed to slow the game up front and allowed the Newcastle midfielders to push QPR back.

Ben Arfa who had come on for Cabaye continued to test the QPR defensive players with excellent footwork and passing ability but showed he is lacking match fitness in the last 15 minutes as he laboured about the park a little.

QPR's Mackie took more responsibility with the ball was but ultimately left alone as Newcastle broke up attacks and  used the ball well. Apart from the first 25mins when QPR had new manager syndrome and Bothroyd, Buzsaky and Wright Phillips made space with individual skill Newcastle took the points in the way a solid team does.

The Championship Manager (now Football Manager) story that Pardew is living continues and his shrewd purchases continue to come good. Hughes must be gutted as QPR deserved something from the match but then again going to the now Sports Direct Arena has never been an easy task for anyone.

Aston Villa 1 - 1 Everton (14/01/2012)

As the teams lined up there was a silence amongst the fans that gave us no clue the match was about to begin. The 27,000 Aston Villa fans were clearly expecting the worst and in the main the team didn't disappoint.

In the first half drab football from the home team and a high line by the away team just made things worse and as the second half whistle blew friends were still chatting to each other.

The first half saw Everton pushing on and playing the ball through midfield with good confidence. An intelligent Petrov and defensive Clark stayed back and found it difficult to come forward with the ball, or receive it in the opposition half.

Fellaini however was enjoying the defensive Villa midfield and played balls straight between, or across them. Everton used the wingers well and the insightful running of Landon Donovan dragged defending players out of position giving his team mates a lot of room. Good defensive support from Drenthe neutralised Albrighton as a threat, Gibson looked out of practice and Cahill isn't a striker but yet Everton still made things very difficult for the Villa back line.

At the other end Bent was dragging defenders very well but his passing was woeful as Aston Villa spurred many counter attacks and rarely troubled Everton. The first half also saw a poor Alan Hutton getting away with a penalty; it was a good job Saha made contact with the ball; Hutton might not have been so lucky if Saha had missed it all together.

Slow passing from Villa, no desire to play one touch football and a quiet Agbonlahor summed up the first half, one which Everton easily won but couldn't put the ball into the back of the net. (despite Warnock trying the most ridiculous back pass ever)

The second half saw a shift of momentum, but only until the 56 minute when Bent scored a great tap in. I say great because Aston Villa showed no signs of effort until that is Albrighton got his wish to play sharp, one touch football. Not blessed with amazing physical attributes he worked well with Ireland to move the ball around quickly and create space against backward running defenders. This proved the reason for the goal as an Albrighton cross caused trouble in the box and Ireland was able to take advantage of a loose ball and cross for Bent to tap in.

At this point perhaps Aston Villa would have been better to try and seal the game rather than protect the lead but they returned to the slow, safe football that ultimately cost them.

Landon Donovan who had played excellently continued to stand out from his team mates; a now yellow carded Fellaini looked quiet but his simple passing was allowing play to move forward; unlike the backward passing Petrov. Donovan ghosted past players with ease and an excellent pass through the middle of Dunne and Warnock (Collins had typically charged forward to make a tackle) found Anichebe who slotted the ball away nicely. Albrighton was sure he had kept Anichebe offside but that is why he is a right winger and not a left back.

The rest of the game saw Aston Villa push forward always looking vulnerable to the Everton counter; they stopped using their wide men and the very late introduction of Keane continued to show their ineptness as a slow Keane found space but had nobody to support him.

A fair result and a good one for Everton who played with midfielders in every part of the pitch but still managed to look the team with the better understanding of their game.