Novak Djokovic

Fresh Faces in Aussie Open Finals

January 25, 2008

There will be two first-time winners at this year’s Australian Open championships as all four final competitors have never won this Grand Slam event before. In fact, three of the four players will be making their debut appearance in the finals down under.

On the men’s side, a Grand Slam final will be played without Roger Federer for the first time in ten consecutive major tournaments as No.3 Novak Djokovic defeated Federer in straight sets in the semifinals. This is the second time in the past six months that Djokovic has dethroned Federer as he stole the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank from the Swiss star in August. Djokovic will now have to take on the sudden powerhouse from France Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga crushed No.2 seed Rafael Nadal in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, in the semis to reach the final. Tsonga certainly picked a big enough stage to make his first ATP final of his career. Djokovic and Tsonga have never played each other before but both are very aware of the other’s ability to win big matches.

“It's going to be interesting, young players playing against each other,” said Djokovic when asked about his thoughts on Tsonga. "Obviously, we will not have anything to lose."

The women’s final sees 2007 finalist and No.5 seed Maria Sharapova take on No.4 seed Ana Ivanovic who will be looking for her first Grand Slam title. Ivanovic made her first Grand Slam final at last year’s French Open where she was defeated in straight sets by Justine Henin. Sharapova, who won the 2006 US Open and the 2004 Wimbledon titles, has yet to win in Australia being defeated by Serena Williams in last year’s championship match. The pair faced each other three times in 2007 with Ivanovic taking two of the matches.

In doubles, the unseeded Ukrainian team of Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko defeated Victoria Azarenka and Shahar Peer to capture the women’s title while the men’s final is set to see Frenchmen Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra take on Israeli team Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram.

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