'Oh God .... this is killing me'

To state that Nadal defied logic is underestimating the phenomenon. To marvel at the speciemen which goes with the nick of 'El Toro - the bull' ... does not at all do justice to the outworldly talents of the man from Mallorca which he exhibited tonight in front of an astounded crowd at the Rod Laver arena, while asserting his place in the pantheon of tennis greats by winning his 1st Australian Open.

Therein lies the great conundrum i face as i type while wiping away my tears. Should i focus on the unbelievable feats of Rafa, or dissect what went wrong with Roger. 

Roger didnt lose it all on his own. Rafa made it all possible with his tenacity and the ultimate never-say-die attitude you can ever find in a sportsperson. Yet, still, the blame rests with Roger for finishing where he did. This AO was his for taking. He created ample opportunities for himself. He played better 'tennis' than Rafa. He had more jaw dropping forehands, sick backhands, killer volleys and skiddy slices. Yet he failed when he had to deliver.

You dont expect to win a match if you waste a plethora of breakpoints, 19 to be precise, and still hope to come out on top, let alone in a GS final against ure greatest nemesis. You dont put in 50% of your 1st serves in and still hope to salvage something and come out as a winner. This just doesnt happen. Esp, when you play against Nadal in a grandslam final.  

I have read over the course of last four years since rafa/rog rivalry has blossomed and has thrown up some of the greatest tennis matches EVER, the fact that people seem to focus on roger's mental fragility against rafa. Time and again, the subject being broached about is how weak roger is against rafa. How rafa has his number and the moment roger saw those msucular, bulging arms across the court, his brain goes for  a ride. 

After watching three sets of the final live, reading the post match reviews and then checking out the highlights of the last two sets - i hereby change the aforementioned theory and rephrase it slightly, albeit with a huge change in context. 

We tend to focus lot more on Roger's mental state and its fragility than giving Nadal the due credit. In my opinion, and some may say that i am stating same thing with a different twist, Rafael Nadal's mental capabilities are the most unique that one can ever come across as a sportsperson. The fire in the belly , the thirst for success, the greed for glory, the hunger for survival, and above all ... putting aside all the compassion for a friend on verge of history, the ultimate will to excel against him and grind him to tears is Nadal's greatest strength. 

He simply wants it MORE everytime he faces Roger. We all talk about how roger needs to reignite himself and push him against rafa - the fact remains that we all seem to overlook the desire of rafael who truly believes that roger is the greatest of all and yet he wants to prove himself against the Gold standard - and comes out on top again and again. 

Dont blame roger for this, he has the better game. he is easy on eyes. he is purists' favourite. its really not his fault, simply his bad luck. Nadal is a freak of nature, with a heart of gold - and he came just when roger was ascending the ladder to be labelled as greatest of all time, only to run roughshod over roger to start his own climb. 

The match was won and lost in third set when roger wasted six breakpoints and let slip the tiebreak with some sloppy play. Fourth set was merely delaying the inevitable, even then it was quite disheartening to see the lack of fight and mental fortitude shown by roger. It was remarkable, how one man's resolute will can break down and crush another man to complete rubble. Just when Roger yet again put himself in a position to make an opportunity for himself to win, Nadal came up with impossible-to-conjure stamina to assert himself on the proceedings, so much so that roger mental state was completely disintegrated and his well crafted, skilled game literally fell to pieces. 

It was painful to see what roger had to endure, and the way he exposed his emotions to the 15000 at the rod laver arena and millions around the world, i doubt if anybody could have contolled their sobs. It just made me him more human, more frail .... more weak. 

This AO might actually be the critical juncture in the career of two men. Rafa, in my opinion, will start getting his long overdue acknowledgement for being a valid contender for GOAT, and more obviously, for being the candidate to achieve Calendar Grandslam, a task out of reach of Roger till atleast YET ANOTHER YEAR. 

May we see an 'interesting' year on the ATP Tour, and the lives of two men unfold in front of us.