australian open title

Rafael Nadal’s shattered dream, Justine Henin’s farewell and mused tweets

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Gloom descended on the rafters at Melbourne Park.

The courts will be bathed in bright sunlight Thursday morning, but there will be a weary leadenness in the hearts of tennis players, officials and fans.

The World No.1, Rafael Nadal, bade a somber farewell to his quest for a Rafa Slam. It was not to be.

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Tennis Bytes: Of Grand Slam rivalry,aces for charity and Indian hopes

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Will 2011 see more head-to-head matches between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal?

The man from Mallorca certainly hopes so.

“I would love to play against Roger Federer this year a few more times because when we play each other it’s in the final, so that’s already a very good result for both of us to be in the final of important tournaments,” said Nadal.

Federer seconded the motion: “We only played twice last year in Madrid and the [Barclays] ATP World Tour Finals in London, which was a great end for both of us.There’ll be huge hype going into the new season with him going for his fourth Grand Slam in a row and me trying to defend the Australian Open title. So right off the bat we’ll have some excitement.”

The recent invitational Abu Dhabi tourney finished with Nadal edging out Federer in two sets 7-6, 7-6.

Here’s a toast to the New Year and more exciting tennis and finals between the supremoes of the sport.

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