Hi all. I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday. TW is open as usual - and there are only 24 days to go until the 2009 Australian Open begins.
We're carrying on with our pictures illustrating "Moments of 2008", with a reminder of last year's men's singles final on the Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open. It was the first Grand Slam final since the 2005 Australian Open that wasn't won by either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, and as it turned out, it was the only 2008 Slam title to go to another player.
After defeating the defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinal, Novak Djokovic went on to win over Rafael Nadal's semifinal conqueror, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6, and became the first Serb to win a Grand Slam singles title. He wasn't the last -- Ana Ivanovic claimed the title at Roland Garros. Meanwhile Nenad Zimonjic, along with partner Daniel Nestor, became a Wimbledon doubles champion. Not Serbia's first, however - that honour goes to Jelena Jankovic, with her Wimbledon mixed doubles title alongside Jamie Murray in 2007. Serbia has definitely arrived as a tennis power, with Jankovic also making the US Open final and ending the year ranked number one.
This was also an historic moment for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who blazed through the draw, defeating not only Nadal, but also Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet and Mikhail Youzhny. He became the first French man to reach a Grand Slam final since 2001, when Arnaud Clement played the final in Melbourne. It was also Tsonga's first tour final. He went on to fulfil some of the promise shown by taking two titles later in 2008, including the Masters Series title in Paris - and scored three victories over Novak Djokovic in the process. Djokovic, of course, won the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai to end his year, with his only defeat there coming at Tsonga's hands.
As always, use this post to talk about anything you'd like.
-- Rosangel Valenti