The Great Eight

With the combatants of the upcoming Super Bowl decided, everyone's attention can turn to the final events of the Australian Open. Not that everyone will, of course; but, hey, it was worth mentioning.

All events in Melbourne will now be played in the Rod Laver Arena. There may still be some outer court actions (doubles and junior events), but for the most part the remaining contests, other than the singles will be in the Hisense Arena. All quarter finals will be played out on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Women's semi finals will both be played during the day on Thursday. The men's semi finals will be divided between Thursday and Friday. Saturday, January 25th is scheduled for the Women's final. January 26th wraps up the Open with the men's singles.

The Men's Quarter Finals Breakdown of, what I call the "Great Eight," is as follows.

Nadal vs. Dimitrov   /   Murray vs. Federer   /   Berdych vs. Ferrer   /   Wawrinka vs. Djokovic

Of special interest for me will be Murray vs. Federer. My interest in tennis began at the end of the Sampras/Agassi era. With their departure I looked around for a younger player to follow. Murray caught my attention; and, in following his career, it has been interesting watching the dynamics involved in a competitor's rise to the top. One of the factors highlighted in his autobiography, Andy Murray: Hitting Back, was the pressure of the pundits who fancy themselves prophets. It was not Andy who said, "Vox Populi, Vox humbug," but the chronicle of media coverage in his career would certainly illustrate the point. On the other hand, the role of the coaches in his life is also a worthwhile study. The career of any athlete is a reminder to those who follow Christ that the matter of not playing to the judgments of bleacher specialists and lining up with good mentors are critical issues.