and Ferrer.

Wow that entire half just folded like a cheap tent.

Good for Stan and Berdych. Rooting for Stan to make the final.

This thing is just wide open for Rafa to waltz through to #14.

I called that Bunk. Give me some props my man.

Wawrinka is an animal out there. The guy can seriously mash.

Nadal with No. 14 now.

Good call. But considering it's basically just you and me on this thread(with 2 others for the occasional post) I don't know how much credit you'll receive.

Credit from you is all I seek. You being an enthusiast tells me you have half a brain. The other half is up for debate.

And post tonight. I will be up giving my two cents.

Nadal and Dimitrov about to kick it off. I would love to see Grigor pull this win off. I like Nadal, but Dimitrov is just balls to the wall. He is fun to watch

And Nadal is not?

Rafa is Brady to me. One of the best ever in his own perfect elements but merely great whenever else. Like Brady he has also had the benefit of stretching the rules due to his greatness. Like Brady gets roughing calls when dudes barely touch him, Rafa gets to stretch time limits in between points and milk injury times like no other when the pressure is on him.

However they both don't do anything to truly piss me off. So like Brady, Rafa is one of the greatest of all time who I respect tremendously but just slightly rubs me the wrong way.

[This message has been edited by Bunk Moreland (edited 1/21/2014 10:07p).]

Dimitrov had a great start but he badly needed that 2nd set tiebreak. Wouldn't be surprised if we see 6-3 6-3 in a hurry.

Hope Dimitrov can keep it interesting.

And rafa grinds out 2 sets in a row in tiebreaks. Dimitrov missed multiple opportunities.

Dimitrov plays like he is going to be a grand slam winner in the near future. I'm liking Fed's chances more and more.

Maybe Federer was hurt worse last year then he let on,

Finally some new blood in the women's draw and for the men, hopefully 2014 is a great year for Roger.

Rawandska is really fun to watch play. Not just a baseline banger.

Rawandska sure is refreshing to watch. Hingis like. But I'm rooting for Na Li.

Still love me some Cibulkova.

Very impressive for Federer. That semi is gonna be fun.

Federer will no doubt have several opportunities to put the dagger in Nadal. In most of their matches pre back problems Federer would have Nadal right where he wanted him but just could not close.

Nadal is a beast. I think if someone bombed the court he would still keep playing.

Federer said last night after the match he is back. We will see in very short order whether that is indeed true. But what you can bank on is Federer will do much better at Wimbledon. If he wins the Aussie it will shock the pants off me but if he beats Nadal he will win the final. And I suspect Federer knows his place in history is on the line. He beats Nadal and then wins the final to go to 18 then he cements his GOAT status. With Nadal 5 behind he will not catch him. We keep expecting it but Nadal has maybe 2 years left in him and that is 2 French Opens and maybe a US Open. After that his body is going to shut down.

I just read an article about the playing surface this year at the Aussie. It is faster than it has been for some time. If you will recall Leyton Hewitt had a coronary when they came out with a slower surface years ago. A faster surface benefits Federer in a match up with Nadal. Nadal is a tremendous player but is still a baseline guy. If Federer can cut the court off then the advantage lies with him. But then you have the mental block. Nadal is in Federer's head. Federer does not respond well to people that just grind balls out all the time.

Nadal has a blister on his hand that will hamper him. But then again it is Nadal so you have to give the edge to him. He simply has Roger's number.

I am looking forward to it gents. Early Friday morning I will be up and watching like the rest of us. Federer has to come out and thump him. He has to jump out 2 sets on him or he will not win IMO. Nadal in a 5th set would occupy too much space.

But how much of a factor is Stefan Edberg? Federer brought him on specifically for these moments. Dammit I can't wait.

Li Na is dominating. I think she may be my favorite women's player.

Bouchard will make a bit more noise on the grass. Good player she is

Bouchard has a bright future.

Genie played for the Irving WTT team this past Summer. I didnt think nothing of her then. She has improved tremendously.

So happy for Stan.

Oh, and of course I'm happy for my girl dominika

Weather forecast calls for 80%T chance of rain so the roof will be closed. This favors Federer.

not gonna have internet where I'm watching, and won't be back home till Sunday, so everyone enjoy the final few days of this GS!

I love the Aussie open schedule, the matches are usually in the final set when I'm waking up for work. Some entertainment with breakfast.

RAFA

My fellow countryman going for another title. Injuries? AIN'T SCARED!

That is a pretty dominating performance. You could tell in the tie breaker it was not going to be Federer's day. He started complaining about Nadal's grunting.

If anyone was going to beat Nadal, my guess would have been Warinka! 2 new Australian winners with Li Na. Refreshing.

Happy for Stan. So glad to finally have someone outside the "Big Four" come through. There will be those that put a mental asterisk next to this title for him and that's a shame because I think he was playing well enough leading up to the final to beat Nadal either way. He was playing some incredible tennis and Nadal, except in his match against Federer, had looked ripe for the picking later in the tournament. His match was Nishikori might have been the tightest straight-set match I've ever seen and Dimitrov pushed him as well.

Personally, I think Nadal played up his injury because he was getting whipped. I understand he's a top competitor and hates not being at 100%, but that's the way it is, Rafa, and every other athlete would kill to be at 100% every time out as well.

So pleased to see someone outside the big 4 win a Slam. Would love to see men's tennis re-enter an era where there are 6-8 guys that have a legitimate chance to win a Slam, and the early rounds are not just boring tennis leading up to Rafa-Roger or Rafa-Djokovic each time out.

Don't have all the numbers in front of me, but my "glance at it" math tells me Wawrinka maybe moves up as high as #3?

Yes, Stan will be #3 next week in the world rankings with the win

so pumped for Stan! Huge win! Agree on Rafa. He always plays up an injury and will use slight discomfort to completely take the opponent out of their zone. Those delays had to have been as brutal on Stan's mental game as much as it was tough for Rafa to deal with the injury. You could definitely tell in that 3rd set.