Australian Open 2010 Awards

by Craig Hickman

The Uluru/Ayers Rock Award
For the player who emerged almost out of nowhere and glowed red at sunset

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Nicolas Almagro for his late-match, red-hot surge against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round.

The Red Kangaroo Award
For the player who made the biggest leap

http://curiousanimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/red-2d20kangaroo-2d2c-2d20australia-2dsmall.jpg

Marin Cilic finally jumped over Juan Martín del Potro at a Slam and landed in his first major semifinal. Too bad all his five-setters caught up with him after winning the first set against Andy Murray.

The Twelve Apostles Award
For the player who rose up to produce the most rock solid game amidst the imminent threat of being washed away

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Serena Williams for yet another ledge-end-ary comeback Down Under against Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals.

The Koala Award
For the player you just wanted to pick up and hug

http://jazzdad.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/koala.jpg

Zheng Jie after being stampeded by her idol in the semifinals.

The Great Barrier Reef Award
For the player who created the largest tectonic uplift in the draw

http://www.whatson.uk.com/home/cswfkcyv/www/content_image/image/image/news%20november/great%20barrier%20reef.jpg

Nadia Petrova for severely eroding Kim Clijsters in the third round.

The Aboriginal Award
For the veteran player who achieved the most success with his native talents

http://www.aboutaustralia.com/a2it_package/images/travel/Gold_Coast_Aboriginal_Dance_Group_Currumbin.jpg

Roger Federer's movement throughout this fortnight was surprisingly efficient. Wasn't that long ago I thought he'd lost a step. If his training regimen doesn't include some combination of ballet, tango/mambo, waltz, tap or Tai Chi, I'd be shocked.

The Tasmanian Devil Award
For the player who delivered the best nocturnal performance



Jo-Wilfried Tsonga against Tommy Haas in the third round.

The Outback Award
For the wildest match of the fortnight

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00797/australian-outback_797095c.jpg

Li Na def. Venus Williams 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-5, Quarterfinals

Venus opened as though she'd run through the match like a river. But the last set and a half was one exhausting expanse of barren terrain. How many times did you think it might never end? Arguably the ugliest televised match of the fortnight, it becomes an early frontrunner for worst match of the year.

The Three Dingoes Award
For the players who fell prey to their own hunting

http://ozmagic2.homestead.com/files/DingoesEnlargeWS.jpg

Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko for their gigantic chokes against Roger Federer in the first round and quarterfinals, respectively, and Alisa Kleybanova for her total collapse against Justine Henin.

And for a few of our more traditional awards:

Best Dressed
Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur, Australia

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 25:  Lleyton Hewitt of Australia plays a forehand in his fourth round match against Roger Federer of Switzerland during day eight of the 2010 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 25, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia.
Australia's Lleyton Hewitt returns a shot against Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 23, 2010.
Reuters

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 23:  Samantha Stosur of Australia plays a forehand in her third round match against Alberta Brianti of Italy during day six of the 2010 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 23, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 23:  Samantha Stosur of Australia celebrates winning a point in her third round match against Alberta Brianti of Italy during day six of the 2010 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 23, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia.
Getty

Best WTA Match
Serena Williams def. Justine Henin 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, Final

Serena Williams of the U.S. shakes hands with Belgium's Justine Henin (L) after winning their women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 30, 2010.
Reuters

I didn't realize how riveting was this tug of war between two of the tour's most decorated champions till watching it a second time.

Best ATP Match (Tie)
Juan Martín del Potro def. James Blake 6-4, 6-7(3), 5-7 6-3 10-8, Second Round

Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro and James Blake of the U.S. shake hands at the conclusion of their five-set match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 20, 2010.
Reuters

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Nicolas Almagro, 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-7(6) 9-7, Round of 16

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France (R) and Spain's Nicolas Almagro shakes hands at the conclusion of their match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 25, 2010.
Reuters

Both featured one tiebreak and went into overtime in the fifth set. Both featured surprisingly exquisite performances from the losing warriors. Both could have continued for another hour. The electrifying tennis sticks in my memory like good preaching.

Speaking of preaching.
I need a day of rest.
At least.

See you when I see you.


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