The Australian Open has always had a flair for the dramatic. The Australian Open 2008 was no different, producing some remarkable, memorable matches that will live in Melbourne lore forever, albeit for different reasons. Some for ending later than late, some for big upsets, some for great escapes, some fore incredible comebacks, some for their quality, and some for their quality.

Here’s an in depth look at the three best, plus others that deserve honorable mention.

3. Roger Federer vs. Janko Tipsarevic

It took more than just Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis to push the end of Friday’s (or should I say, Saturday morning’s) action during Week 1 of the 2008 Australian Open back to 4:33 AM.

The whole thing started with Roger Federer and Janko Tipsarevic, who squared off in a “day” session third-round match that ended up spilling over well into the night session. Federer, then world No. 1, prevailed 6-7(5), 7-6(1), 5-7, 6-1, 10-8 in four hours and 27 minutes.

What it lacked in quality (unforced errors plagued the proceedings and Federer was nowhere near the Federer he was in 2007; it was later revealed that he had been suffering from mononucleosis), the match made up for in drama. Tipsarevic, a Serb in the shadow of eventual Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, was expected to get blown away, and that appeared to be the case at 5-3 in the first set. The underdog, however, stormed back to win the opening frame of play in a tiebreaker.

It was on.

A back-and-forth affair saw Federer return the favor by winning the second in another ‘breaker, but never-say-die Tipsarevic kept things close and broke at 5-5 in the following set before serving it out for a shocking 2-1 advantage. Once again, however, Federer seemed to take control and go on his way to imminent victory, taking the fourth easily 6-1.

But again, Tipsarevic had other ideas. Upset–shocking the world more like it–was still on his mind. The No. 49 player in the world held serve and went toe-to-toe with the Swiss until 8-8 in the decisive fifth. That’s when Federer broke, and this time he finally put Tipsarevic away, serving out the wild match to finish it 10-8.

“What a great battle,” Federer said. “Fair play, he’s a nice guy.Pity somebody has to win; wish we could have draws sometimes too…. This is where you get grey hair early in life.”

“I went on court with the idea I would win,” Tipsarevic admitted. You have to believe you are going to beat Roger Federer, as stupid as it might sound. I was close. I lost because he was better in the important moments of the match.”

Some interesting statistics from the match: Despite the the competitiveness of the match, Federer won 30 more points than Tipsarevic (202-172)…. Federer also had 21 break-point opportunities to Tipsarevic’s three…. Tipsarevic did not lose a single break point, winning three of three…. Federer double-faulted just once in 31 service games.

And one final interesting quote from Federer: “I’m glad I could deliver a five-set thriller. I don’t have them that often except at Wimbledon against Nadal, so it’s nice to be part of something like this.” If only he knew what was to come six months later on the grass courts of the All-England Club….

2. Andy Roddick vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber

In terms of quality, the third-round clash featuring Andy Roddick and Philipp Kohlschreber was second to none at the 2008 Australian Open. It might not be remembered like the two other Aussie Open epics because it didn’t end at 4:33 in the morning (like Marcos Baghdatis vs. Lleyton Hewitt) and it didn’t involve the No. 1 player in the world (Roger Federer, at the time he played Janko Tipsarevic).

Other than that, this one was off the chart.

Literally. Kohlschreiber finished with an absolutely ridiculous 104 winners in his incredible 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (11-9), 6-7 (3-7), 8-6 victory over Roddick that ended after 2 AM the next morning following three hours and 50 minutes of slugfest tennis.

Normally when one plays with the reckless abandon necessary to produce those kinds of shocking winner totals, a host of unforced errors go along with the spectacular moments. Not so for the German. Kohlschreiber committed a mere 33 unforced errors. For those who are counting (and you might want to, since these numbers are nothing short of legendary), that’s a mind-boggling 73 more winners than errors.

Kohlschreiber was so good that he made Roddick’s stats look merely pedestrian on a day when they normally would have headline-makers. The American struck 79 aces and fired 42 aces, his best effort ever in the ace department.

“The whole match, the whole game for me was perfect, I think, today,” said Kohlschreiber.

“I took his best stuff for five sets and I thought I was going to get him to break or to fold,” Roddick explained. “I thought if I kept it on him long enough that that would happen.

“When you decide to be a pro athlete, you’re going to have ups, you’re going to have downs, you’re going to have extreme highs and extreme lows. That’s just the nature of the beast,” added Roddick, who–five years ago–was on the winning end of one of the most amazing matches in Australian Open history. His 21-19 thriller over Younes El Aynaoui in the 2003 quarterfinals will get some well-deserved recognition of its own around here as the 2009 Aussie Open draws nearer. For now, it’s all about Kohlschreiber-Roddick.

“This was an all-out battle,” gushed ESPN analyst Luke Jensen “We didn’t see just one player in the zone — they were both there. Roddick never once in this match decided to take the conservative route. He was throwing screamers at Kohlschreiber, but it wasn’t enough. Roddick did not lose this match. Kohlschreiber beat him.

“I don’t remember if I have ever seen two guys play so flawlessly.”

Could anyone disagree?

1. 1. Marcos Baghdatis vs. Lleyton Hewitt

If Australian Open tournament organizers were starting to get worried that this one would not end before the next day’s action was schedule to start, could you blame them?

OK,that’s overdoing just a bit, but the third-round encounter between Marcos Baghdatis and Lleyton Hewitt produced the latest finish in tennis history. What began at 11:48 on Friday, January 18 ended four hours and 45 minutes later at 4:33 in the morning of Saturday, January 19. When it was all said and done, Hewitt emerged from the epic scrum with a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-3 victory.

It could have been over much sooner, destined not to go down in Australian Open lore. Hewitt led two sets to one and 5-1 in the fourth set, one game from victory. Aussie fans who were still awake, although thrilled that their man was on the brink of victory, were scrambling for the exits. Any departure, however, would have been grossly premature. Baghdatis broke back twice and even saved a match point at 2-5, 30-40, eventually winning the fourth set in a tiebreaker to force a decisive fifth.

A mentally-strong Hewitt finally finished off a physically-exhausted Baghdatis with a second break of serve in the fifth set. Hewitt capitalized on his fifth match point of the grueling encounter with a huge down-the-line forehand return winner. Thus ended a night (and day), that had it all: unruly fans, injury timeouts, foot-faults, double-faults, chokes, amazing comebacks; everything.

“It wasn’t easy for both of us with the late finish after an incredible day’s tennis when Roger Federer was taken so long in his match and it was tough for everybody, but we just tried to put this behind us on court,” Hewitt explained.

“I love the game,” remarked Baghdatis. “I lost the match, but I came out with so many good emotions. I had really so much fun, and the crowd was great… I’m a bit disappointed, that’s for sure, but I’m just really happy the way I’m playing, and I’m ready for the season.”

Unfortunately, this would be the highlight of 2008 for both Baghdatis and Hewitt. Injuries derailed the remainder of their years. But what a highlight it was!

The Hewitt-Baghdatis epic capped off one of the most remarkable two-day stretches in Grand Slam history. It included Philipp Kohlschreiber’s winner-filled five-set upset of Andy Roddick on Thursday night, James Blake’s first-ever comeback from two sets down (over Sebastien Grosjean on Friday afternoon), and Federer’s nail-biting 10-8 in the fifth win over Janko Tipsarevic, which caused the Friday night session to start so late.

Honorable mention to round out the Top 5:

James Blake vs. Sebastien Grosjean. Blake had only won one five-set match in his entire career before the Australian Open, but he had certainly never come back from two sets down. He did against Grosjean in the third round, recovering from losing the first to sets to prevail 0, 6(5), and 2 in the third, fourth, and fifth. Blake went on to reach the quarterfinals, where he fell to Federer.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Novak Djokovic. The final featured one player (Djokovic) in his second career Grand Slam final and another (Tsonga) in his first, but it managed to surpass expectations. Tsonga was not as absolutely on fire as he was throughout the tournament, but he produced some spectacular stuff to win the first set in a dramatic tiebreaker. In the end, however, Djokovic’s experience showed and the Serb prevailed in a fourth-set tiebreaker.

Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich

Two Israeli veteran doubles players swept through the field and became the first team from Israel to claim a Grand Slam Championship on the final Saturday of the Australian open 2008.  The final match followed Maria Sharapova’s triumph in the Women’s singles and was delayed by rain for 30 minutes.  The Rod Laver Arena roof needed to be closed and the court dried before the Israeli men could complete their mission.

As the eight seeded team, Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich were pressed throughout the 108 minute straight set match by the seventh seeded French entry, and 2007 Wimbledon Champions, Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra.  With Israeli flags waving around the Rod Laver arena, the stirring Israeli win marked a successful tournament for Israeli doubles as country mate Shahar Peer claimed the runner-up trophy in Women’s Doubles.  Saturday was a big day at the Open and the brief rain delay did nothing to dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm as the fast-paced Men’s Doubles kept the fans engaged throughout the tense 7-5, 7-6 battle.

Lightning quick net play, power serving and blistering ground strokes characterized each point in the cleanly played finals.  The match featured only 5 unforced errors; all by the Frenchmen.  While the Israelis had 10 breakpoint opportunities, they were only able to capitalize on 2, as the French converted 1 of their 5 break opportunities.

Ram already has two Mixed Grand Slam championships at Wimbledon in 2006 and in France in 2007.  This marks Erlich’s first Grand Slam championship.  Their play and relationship has matured over the years.  Ram and Erlich displayed a coordinated effort that exemplifies their progress.  As best friends, the two rejoiced in the aftermath of the win.  Perhaps even more amazing than the final round performance is the fact that they did not lose a set during the entire tournament.

Andy and Jonathan knocked off India’s Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles, who upset defending champs and number one seed Americans Bob and Mike Bryan, in the semis.  The stirring quarterfinal win left Bhupathi and Knowles with great credentials but lacking in energy for their semifinal match.  The Israeli Davis Cup stalwarts rocketed out of the starting gate and dominated play in registering their decisive two set win.

Ram, born in Montivedo, Uruguay, and Erlich, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, are both right-handed and each has career earnings over $1,000,000 USD.  Both players now reside in Tel Aviv.  At 30 years old and at 5 foot 11 inches, Erlich seems well-suited for the 27 year old, 5 foot 11 inch Ram.  While neither player ranks highly on the professional singles tour, both are highly ranked doubles players at numbers 18 and 16 respectively.  The pair gives the Israeli Davis Cup fans reasons to hope for continued international success and remain proof that there is strength in teamwork.

Against Clement and Llorda, the Israelis had impressive statistics, double faulting only once and recording no unforced errors.  They also won a dominating 86% of their first serves, while winning 37% of their receiving points.  To back up their impressive first service stats, the champions won 55% of their second serves.

In the finals, when play was resumed following the rain delay, Ram and Erlich never gave up their 4-2 lead and won the first set 7-5.  The second set started well but the Frenchmen battled back from 4-3 to take a 6-5 edge, but the Israeli registered a key break on a smashing Ram volley.  Trailing 3-1 in the tiebreaker, the Israeli ran off four straight points on the way to a 7-4 tiebreak win.  The pair seemed perfectly positioned on all occasions and pressured the French in almost every game.

Erlich credited Ram’s serving as the key to the match.  While many of Erlich’s service games seemed suspenseful, Ram served dominant and never faced a break point.

With the Australian open Men’s Doubles Championship and the Women’s Doubles runner-up trophy in hand, Israeli tennis looks to be competing strongly in all Grand Slam events in the future.  While it will be difficult to repeat in Australian open 2009, the 2008 champions, Ram and Erlich, will not go down easily.

Long known as the sisters that would just as soon battle each other as battle opponents, the Ukrainian Bondarenko sisters developed newfound on-court harmony in time to help the battling sisters earn their first Grand Slam Tennis Doubles title at the Rod Laver Arena on Friday, January 25, 2008. Coached by their mother Natalia, the unpredictable pair kept their cool and surprised the field emerging as the unseeded Women’s Doubles champions. It was not easy!

The decided underdogs overcame a sluggish start and rallied over the 12th seeded entry of Victoria Azarenko and Israel’s very experienced Shahar Peer in a three set stunner that had the packed house rocking for more than two hours. The stormy match saw huge momentum swings as the Ukranian team overcame a 2-6 whipping in the first set, rebounding to sweep the second set 6-1 en route to a tense and hard-fought third set 6-4 victory. The unlikely turnaround left the runner-ups shaking their heads as the audience wondered just how good the Bondarenkos could be if they can continue to play together.

At 23 years old, the blonde poster girl temptress, Alona Bondarenko used her well-traveled experience to calm her younger sister, Kateryna, after a rocky first set start. Kateryna Bondarenko was ultra aggressive, gambling a bit too much in the opening set, while hitting volley after volley erratically and beyond the baseline. This type performance would not have been well received a year earlier. Well-known for their on-court antics, the sisters showed their growing maturity by talking their way through the horrific start and settling into their strong service games and powerful ground strokes. As their confidence grew, their strokes improved and Kateryna began to strike dominating service returns. After the first set, the sisters were on the offensive, pressuring every receiving game.

The Bondarenkos won eight of the 14 receiving points they faced in the 38 minute second set. Over their 39 event doubles career, the Australian Open 2008 marked the sister’s first championship. Remarkably, the champions won only two points more than the runner-ups, 77-75. By the end of the 55 minute third set, the crowd had all but forgotten the prior two inconsistent sets.

The third set began with three service breaks; two by the Bondarenks. At 5-2, Azaraneko and Peer broke back to even the match and seemingly stem the momentum until at 5-4, Peer misplayed a forehand volley and lost the decisive 10th game. The Ukrainian victory was appreciated by the capacity filled Arena, but Peer and Azarenko seemed stunned, wondering what might have been. The Bondarenkos are the first sisters to hold the doubles crown since the Williams sisters prevailed in 2003.

By the time the sisters reached the finals, they had strung together 5 straight upsets, going three sets in their 2nd round match with Mixed Doubles Champ and 8th seeded Tiantian Sun and Shuai Peng of China. That match went down to a tiebreaker in the third set and seemed a fitting icebreaker to propel the blonde-brunette Ukrainian pair to new heights.

Most impressive was Kateryna and Alona’s straight set quarter-final win over the defending Australian Open Doubles Champions and number 1 seed, Cara Black and American Liezel Huber, 6-3, 6-2, in a match that never seemed in doubt. Again, power serving and stellar service returns surprised the top seeds. At the urging of their coach and mother, the sisters started their semi-final match quickly and never let up against the 10th seeded Spaniards, Anabel Garriques and Virginia Pascual. The match was decided in short order in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.

Even with all this momentum and growing fan base, the girls were jittery at the finals on the championship court. After the first set, a few glances from Natalia seemed to get the team back on track. Kateryna’s increased patience and more concentrated effort seemed the keys to success.

Alona, known for her photogenic and sultry photo shoots, is currently the 21st ranked Women’s singles player and has career earning over $1,000,000 USD and broke into the Women’s top 100 in 2005. Alona is the first Ukrainian female tour player to exceed the million dollar mark. She is currently the 55th ranked Women’s doubles professional player. At 5 foot 9 inches and 121 pounds, there is a lot to like about Alona. Her potential seems well in front of her and she leaves Melbourne with many fans anxious to see her return in 2009.

Kateryna has power and great athleticism. Her expanding maturity can only yield higher rankings and add some balance to her play. Troubled by a left hip strain in 2007, her exposure was limited. While some of the rustiness was apparent, her hip seemed healed and she moved as gracefully as ever throughout the tournament. Unforced errors tend to be her demise. The Bondarenkos had more unforced errors that Peer-Azarenka.

The Bodarenkos have increased their schedule in 2008 and fans can expect to see them battling for more titles throughout the year. The Australian Open fans are convinced the sisters have more wins to capture and with their emotions in check, their potential is unbridled.

A first-time pairing of Serb, Nenad Zimonjic, and China’s vivacious Tiantian Sun worked magic at the Rod Laver Arena on the Australian open 2008 final Sunday afternoon. Buoyed by spectacular service dominance, the energetic fifth seeded team thrilled the fans and surprised the field by rising to many challenges and cruising to the year’s first Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Championship in straight sets over India’s imposing Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza.

The 2008 Mixed Doubles Title marks Zimonjic’s 19th Men’s Doubles or Mixed Doubles professional title. Sun credited her Serbian partners experience in calming her early jitters and steadying her play in the key first set. The unlikely pairing put two experienced doubles players together and was arranged by coach Sandon Stolle, who was complimentary of the team chemistry that garnered strong crowd support.

The match took just 81 minutes but provided inspired play and thunderous ovations from the packed arena. A tense and topsy-turvy first set put Zimonjic and Sun in position to capitalize on several unforced errors. After seven years on the professional circuit and 5 years in Grand Slam events, Sun was elated with her first Grand Slam crown. Zimonjic graciously pointed to Sun’s stalwart and cat-like net play as the key to victory. In reality, after a rocky start, the pair served magnificently in claiming the title. Both players held key service games in the pivotal first set and the pair seemed to grow in confidence and efficiency as the match unfolded.

In the early going, the champions sprung to a quick 3-1 advantage only to fall behind at 3-4. Zimonjic rose to the occasion and used his experience to finish off a crucial break in the pivotal eighth game. The champions applied pressure for the remained of the first set but could not convert several set points until the 7-4 tie-breaker.

At the start of the tie-break, Bhupathi and Mirza spurted to a quick 3-0 lead before a 6-0 run was mounted by the champions. After a Bhupathi hold, Zimonjic served the first set out and shared a brief celebratory moment with Sun that spoke volumes about their newfound chemistry. The effervescent Tiantian rose to even higher energy levels in the second set as the champions broke through in the first game of the final set.

Although experienced as a tour and Grand Slam contestant, the 26 year old, 5 foot 9 inch Sun, a native of Henan, China, has not achieved much singles acclaim and has usually focused on her forte’ Women’s Doubles. Sun, the 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist in Women’s Doubles, jumped quickly at the opportunity to team up with her more highly regarded mixed doubles partner. Although the team will not be paired again until Wimbledon, the feeling is that this is a team to be reckoned with down the road. Sun has never survived the second round of any Grand Slam singles event. The gritty right-hander is currently ranked 17th in Women’s Doubles and is the 258th ranked women’s singles player. But, in the 2008 Australian Open, she found her game with the help of her esteemed Serbian partner.

And, what a tournament it was for Serbia! Inspired by visible flag support and demonstrative fans, the Serbian players challenged the field on all fronts. With Novak Djokovic championing the Men’s Singles and Ana Ivanovic claiming the Women’s runner-up title, the wildly enthusiastic Serbian spectators boisterously roared their approval. The enthusiasm was not lost on Zimonjic, who seized the opportunity after hard-fought and tense quarter-final and semi-final upsets.

The 31 year old, 6 foot 3 inch 200 pounder started aggressively in all the team’s matches. Zimonjic seemed to relish his role as captain and playing coach as the champions overtook top seeded Cara Black and Australia’s Paul Hanley in a spectacular three set quarter final triumph before overcoming the third-seeded entry of Zi Yan and Mark Knowles in two sets. After these stirring victories, Zimonjic and Sun seemed poised for the title.

Their Indian counterparts, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza rode an unseeded wave to the finals knocking off eighth seeded Nathalie Dechy and Israel’s Andy Ram in a ferociously contested two set semi-final match. With six Grand Slam Mixed Doubles titles on his resume, the experienced Bhupathi had his eye on the Australian Crown. However, the runner-up pair’s inability to force errors and pressure the opposing service games spelled their downfall. Bhupathi and Mirza only won 19 of 61 receiving points and have targeted that statistic as the most revealing area for future improvement.

The final match featured only six double faults, but five were from Mirza and Bhupathi. Of the ten unforced errors, the runner-ups committed seven, while the champions were opportunistic capturing four of the match’s five service breaks. Sun-Zimonjic won 69 points as Mirza-Bhupathi won 58.

As the match neared completion, Tiantian Sun captivated the crowd with her contagious smile and peppy energy level. Nicknamed the “pocket rocket” by her adoring fans, Tiantian reminded all spectators of the pure joy of well played tennis. During post-match interviews, Sun remarked that she viewed mixed doubles as a “fun” event and that she primarily plays to relieve the stress of her heavy women’s doubles schedule. Her exuberance brought much to the Australian open and she will be remembered as “the engine that could” by her appreciative fans.

Gracious in victory, Sun credited Zimonjic’s court presence and strength as the key factors in their triumph. Zimonjic brought a confidence to the court that allowed Sun to play her best tennis in two years. The champions left center court to cheering fans anxious to see them continue their partnership in Australian open 2009.

Wrapping up an impressive tournament run and overcoming a nagging hamstring injury, third seed Serbian, Novak Djokovic, came back to defeat the unseeded French phenom, Jo Wilfried Tsonga in four sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).  With a dazzling exhibition of hard serves and sizzling ground strokes, Djokovic overcame a tender hamstring, which he aggravated in the beginning of the fourth set, to oust the upset king of the Australian open 2008 at the Rod Laver Centre in Melbourne.

A wildly enthusiastic crowd whole-heartedly appreciated the play of both young racket stars.  At 20 years old, Djokovic became the fourth youngest Australian open Champion in a four set match that was filled with contrasting strategies and spell binding suspense.  Entering the Grand Slam event, Tsonga was ranked 38th in the world and at 22 years old has a bright future ahead.

To reach the finals, both players excelled.  Djokovic did not lose a set in defeating German Benjamin Becker, Simone Boletti of Italy, Australian and 19th seeded Lleyton Hewitt, and 5th seeded David Ferrer of Spain.  In the semifinals, Novak played dominating tennis in upsetting top seeded and heavily favored Rodger Federer 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).  Miraculously, Djokovic arrived in the finals without losing a set and seemed well primed to cast aside Jo-Willfried’s unlikely run.

Tsonga, nicknamed Ali for his likeness to Muhammed Ali, notched upset after upset in gaining a berth in the finals.  Tsonga’s great run began early when he stunned the boisterous crowds by knocking off heavily favored and 9th seeded Brit, Andy Murray in four sets in the first round.  Tsonga followed that thrilling win by finishing off American Sam Warburg and Spaniard Guilermo Garcia-Lopez before tackling 8th seeded French counterpart Richard Gasquert in four sets.  Tsonga seemed to gain crowd support and confidence with every upset.  Seemingly unfazed by the notoriety, Tsonga quickly dispatched the14th seeded Russian, Michael Youzhny, in the quarter-finals.

Tsonga’s semifinal match against 2nd seeded Rafael Nadal was one of the highlights of the 2008 tournament.  Tsonga seemed in control as he displayed crafty shots and served steadily in cruising through the flamboyant Nadal in straight sets.

The finals marked the first time Djokovic and Tsonga played each other.  The 22 year old Frenchman had only played 40 ATP matches prior to the Open while the Serb had contested 178 matches in attaining his number three world ranking.

Djokovic started fast breaking Tsonga in the first game of the match.  The crowd seemed uneasy but Tsonga rallied and broke back immediately.  The opening set was hard fought until at 5-4, Djokovic misplayed an overhead and Tsonga converted a drive for break point.  For the set winner, Tsonga rifled a forehand down the line which Djokovic volleyed but was flat-footed with Tsonga’s deft lob winner.  The crowd erupted as Tsonga seized the momentum once again.

The second set took just 39 minutes.  Both players served effectively, but Djokovic’s reduced his unforced errors while applying constant pressure.  But, “Ali” was up to the task.  In the key seventh game, Djokovic used his powerful forehand to record successive points and break the Frenchman.  The set was close, but Tsonga seemed to feel the pressure of Djokovic’s resurgent play.

Djokovic continued his aggressive play in the third set recording an early break to garner a lead he would not relinquish.  Tsonga fought off six set points at 3-5 but could not gain the advantage as the Serb exploded to a 6-3 victory.

After the fourth game of the fourth set, Djokovic summoned his trainer to administer treatment for a strained hamstring.  Tsonga himself seemed a bit battered, but when play resumed, the crowd hoping for extended play, rallied solidly behind the Frenchman who carried play into the tiebreaker.

Djokovic again started fast leaping to a 6-2 lead before serving out the tiebreaker.  Djokovic. Who gained the finals in the U.S. Open in 2007, seemed comfortable as a favorite in his second consecutive Grand Slam finals.  Tsonga, who will rose to 18th ranked in the world, was gracious in defeat admitting to jitters throughout the match.

The match was hard fought.  Djokovic won 136 points while Tsonga won 122.  Djokovic broke serve four times as Tsonga broke twice.  Tsonga’s nerves seemed to contribute to his abnormally high unforced errors tally of 41 compared to Djokovic’s 35.  Perhaps the key to Djokovic’s win was his ability to capitalize on Tsonga’s second serve.  The Serb won 21 of 40 of the Frenchman’s second serves.

While Tsonga served as a crowd pleaser, interacting with the packed house on several occasions, and relishing his success, Djokovic maintained the cool demeanor of an experienced veteran who is clearly headed to even higher rankings and earnings.  Both players intend to return for the Australian open 2009 and the adoring crowds will be waiting.