What Court My Attention...

F1 Countdown: Man cannot live alone
on just one sport-hurry up March!

As a predominantly biased Sports fan towards Football and Motor Sport, it is with regret that I find the start of the calendar year hard to come to terms with; considering that my Motor Sport fix has to subside until about March time. So, what's a guy to do on a Saturday besides following football religiously? Well, flicking around the Sport TV listings on my Virgin Media box seems to always be the safest bet- watching the repetitive course of Sky Sports News maybe, or even dare I say it: Cricket. Gulp.

True Grit: Djokovic (pictured) and Nadal
went way past their last reserves in the final

 This weekend was pleasantly different though, as the beaming light of world class sport shone on Melbourne, Australia- where the Australian Open held host to the world of Tennis for the years first Grand Slam competition. Despite having no degree of infatuation with Tennis (although I did go to Wimbledon a few years back, simply because I could), I do follow the sport closely enough to be aware of the basic rules and big names, beyond 'hitting the ball over the net' and 'Andy Murray'. I was wallowing around Fourth round FA Cup tie's if im honest, looking for an exciting game in to tune into/look forward to. However, the wonderful world of Twitter kindly intervened, with a raft of trends arising and reoccurring under the titles of 'Djokovic vs Nadal', and 'Andrew Castles' so to speak. Out of pure curiosity, I edged my bets and decided to find out what all the hype surrounding the mens singles final was all about...

...I wasn't disappointed. It took me under five minutes to engage with what I was watching: two athletes in the form of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic , in the prime of their sporting careers, doing battle at the very top of their game. It was half way through the final set when began to watch, and I sure as hell didn't move my focus from the laptop screen until Novak Djokovic delivered the final blow to Nadal's war effort; a calmly placed forehand strike ending what has been mooted one of the all time great Grand Slam contests, in an era of the sport which has been hailed as 'golden' by critics, competitor managers, fans, and players alike.

Famous: I have hunch this
may be one of sports most
iconic images in years to come

 It's the context of the contest between Nadal and Djokovic that really captures the imagination; 5 hours and 53 minutes of combat, in-between Tennis' two topped rank competitors, in the first of four Grand Slam events to grace 2012.  Nadal arrived on court prior to the game having lost his last five showdowns with Djokovic in all competitions, obviously keen to put such a record in tatters and avoid it's elongation. His efforts within the confines of the final certainly echoed this, with an awe-inspiring set of returns and audacious backhands, especially in the 5th game during the final set, putting a physically conveyed exhausted Djokovic under immense pressure. However, as the memorising, spell binding demonstration of competition between two of Sports most exemplary figures came to an eventual end, it was the Serbian who came out on top, having displayed unfathomable desire and an unbelievable will to win, that I for one can say have never witnessed before across any platform of Sport.   Come the end of the game, I have a feeling that the scene of Djokovic ripping his sweat soaked shirt open and magnified groan of satisfaction (please, hold yourself together and remain mature), may well become of Sports greatest visual clichés and advertisements

Watch & Learn: Yes Jose, even you could
learn a thing or two from Nadal and Djokovic

 So what have we learn today then? A number of things. Firstly, to strike down with great displeasure at the manager in football who is next to 'rest' a player after playing a hectic schedule of something like two games in five days. Seriously, such a Mancini or Mourinho should be tied to a chair and forced to watch the physically draining and committed Mens Single final between Djokovic and Nadal should they be such culprits. It really put's 90 minutes on a football pitch against a endurance ridden 6 hours on a tennis court into perspective, not to even mention the wages involved at the highest level in football... Secondly, respect. I'd be astonished and displeased to meet someone, anyone who can't help but be awe-struck by such a performance by two players who display such an out-pouring of emotion and pure sporting class throughout such a prolonged period of time doing what they do best. But finally, and most valuably I feel: To maybe start counting the days down until it's Formula One's turn to visit Melbourne in March for the season opener a little less, and instead to open my eyes and exploit the many avenues and alleys of sport events and programming that make the physical activity such a cocktail of diversity/togetherness, natural talent, and most importantly: entertainment.

 Feel free to leave comments below!