Australian Open 2009: Final Thoughts

Here are the top newsmakers of this year's Australian Open:

1. Rafael Nadal. After winning the longest ever Australian Open (semifinal) match against countryman Fernando Verdasco, the World No. 1 beat Roger Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 to win his first ever hardcourt major. Read the story here.

2. Roger Federer. Missed out in breaking Pete Sampras' 14 major titles. Lost for the 5th time (FO 2005-2007, Wimbledon 2008, AO 2009) in a major to great rival Rafa. No wonder why he broke down during the awarding ceremonies. Read more here and watch the speech here.

3. Serena Williams. Won her 4th Australian Open title and 10th major. With the win, she displaces Jelena Jankovic from the top of the women's rankings.

4. Dinara Safina. Missed her chance to winning her first major and getting her place in the record books, with brother Marat Safin, as the only brother-sister to have won major titles.

5. Fernando Verdasco. Beat red-hot favorite Andy Murray in the fourth round and last year's finalist Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. Played his best match in the semifinals but lost it after double-faulting on match point.

6. Jelena Dokic. Remember her? That 16-year-old kid who beat Martina Hingis in the first round of Wimbledon in 1999 on her way to a semifinal run? She's back and went all the way to the quarterfinals where she was beaten by Safina.

8. Russians. If Svetlana Kuznetsova had won her quarterfinal match against Serena, all women's semifinalists would have been Russians.

8. Serbians. A bad tournament for the Serbs, all three losing before the semifinals. Ana Ivanovic lost to an overweight Russian in the 3rd Round. Jelena Jankovic lost to a former Wimbledon finalist in the 4th round. Novak Djokovic, as always, retired in his quarterfinal match.

9. Live at Melbourne Park. A friend's girlfriend watched the Australian Open. And she has pictures to prove it in her Facebook account. Ang swerte!

10. Pinoy. A Filipino, from Cagayan de Oro, won the juniors boys' doubles title. Read the story here.

Terrible. That is how I fared in my predictions. I didn't even get one finalist right in both men's and women's singles. Next stop - Roland Garros!

MEN'S SINGLES:
Quarterfinals:
Rafael Nadal vs Gilles Simon
Roger Federer vs Marin Cilic Juan Martin del Potro
Novak Djokovic vs Andy Roddick
Andy Murray Fernando Verdasco vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Semifinals:
Rafael Nadal vs Andy Murray Fernando Verdasco
Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic Andy Roddick

Finals:
Novak DjokovicRafael Nadal vs Andy Murray Roger Federer

Champion:
Andy Murray Rafael Nadal


WOMEN'S SINGLES:
Quarterfinals:
Jelena Jankovic Marion Bartoli vs Vera Zvonareva
Serena Williams vs Agnieszka Radwanska Svetlana Kuznetsova
Dinara Safina vs Ana Ivanovic Jelena Dokic
Elena Dementieva vs Venus Williams Carla Suarez Navarro

Semifinals:
Jelena Jankovic Vera Zvonareva vs Dinara Safina
Serena Williams vs Elena Dementieva

Finals:
Jelena Jankovic Dinara Safina vs Elena Dementieva Serena Williams

Champion:
Jelena Jankovic Serena Williams