Lucky 9 and 13

It seemed like nature wanted me to really watch the 2008 U.S. Open final match between Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic. Last Sunday, I was on my way back to my hometown after four days of adventure in General Santos City for the Tuna Festival so I thought I would have to just check the news online to find out who won. However, it was announced that the match was postponed for a day due to heavy rains. Therefore, I got to watch the match on Monday and watched Serena come from behind from losing the second set and eventually winning her 9th career Grand Slam. Despite the loss, Jankovic should still be applauded for her efforts, reaching her first Grand Slam final. I was rooting for either of the Williamses to win the title so I guess I was right on the money!

Meanwhile, on the men's side I wrongly predicted the winner since I was really rooting for Rafael Nadal to win his third consecutive Grand Slam title for this year. However, he was bumped out of the contention in four sets by British player Andy Murray. I think this contributed to the low ratings of the men's final since the anticipated Nadal-Federer match did not happen. Still, Federer's win finally dispelled observations that he's on a decline. Sure, he lost more matches than the usual this year and also lost the number one ranking as well but that doesn't mean that he's no longer a force to reckon with. I believe he still has a great chance to beat Pete Sampras' 14-Grand Slam title haul in the next few years.