Fernando Gonzalez of Chile makes his first appearance in a Grand Slam final in this year’s Australian Open. On Sunday, this Olympic gold medalist takes on defending champion Roger Federer for the title. He swept by German Tommy Haas with ease in the semis, beating him in straight sets in just over 90 minutes (6-1, 6-3, 6-1).
Though seeded tenth, Gonzalez has a full bag of tricks and has played some of the more sublime tennis in this tournament to date. He faced Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals, prevailing against the second seed also in straight sets (6-2, 6-4, 6-3). In the fourth round, Gonzalez beat fifth seed James Blake in straight sets yet again (7-5, 6-4, 7-6).
Get ready for the biggest match of Gonzalez’ life on Sunday. Keep in mind, however, the FedExpress took just 83 minutes to dispose of his most recent victim and holds a 9-0 career win-loss record over Gonzalez. Here’s hoping for a competitive Australian Open men’s final and may the best man win.
[...] First Round: Evgeny Korolev (Russia) 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 Second Round: Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) 7-6, 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 4-0 (retired) Third Round: Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 6-2, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 Fourth Round: James Blake (USA) 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 Quarterfinals: Rafael Nadal (Spain) 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 Semifinals: Tommy Haas (Germany) 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 Posted in Roger Federer, Australian Open, Fernando Gonzalez [...]