Australian Open 2011: Reviewing Roger Federer And Rafael Nadal in The First Week

We have come to the end of the first three rounds at the Australian Open, with half the fourth rounds completed, and the other half being played today. The tennis has of course been exciting and engrossing, with whole days of line-ups for view.

Without mentioning, of course, that feel good feeling associated with the year's first Grand Slam tournament; that bubbly feeling of anticipation, as everyone awaits patiently, ball by ball, point by point, the crowning of the champion.

This feeling, perhaps, is most relevant in the men's draw, which, while having had several years now of terrific draws and match-ups, would seem to be treating us again to a stellar cast.

Yet again, we have been asking if the two giants of tennis, Federer and Nadal, may meet in the final, in a remake of their five-set thriller of two years ago.

All signs, so far, point to the possibility, shaky as the two may have been in the last week.

Federer, by far, seems the more vulnerable, having lost three sets, having played five sets against Gilles Simon in the second round.

He had relatively cruised past Lukas Lacko and Xavier Malisse in the first and third rounds, although that, now all too familiar doubtful play re-emerged again yesterday against Tommy Robredo, where he lost his focus, and the second set, and looked human as he struggled in the third.

Nadal, on the other hand, hasn't lost a set thus far; but this belies the fact of his looking less than his best.

Despite crushing his first two opponents, Marcos Daniel and Ryan Sweeting, the Spaniard faced greater opposition against the local hope, Bernard Tomic, who has been hailed as the next great thing for Australian tennis.

While Nadal did win in straights, there were worrying revelations of weakness—the Australian managed to temporarily stun the world No. 1 with a commanding 4-0 lead in the second set, although he would soon lose seven of the next eight games.

Nadal, indeed, has come into this tournament on the back of an illness (much like Federer in 2008), and we all remember what happened last year, when he hadn't quite fully recovered from his tendinitis.

So Federer has looked shaky, and Nadal off—but is this any reason to think that a confrontation in the finals is to be written off? Probably not; the sport of tennis has seen too many strange things for this not to be possible.

But on the other hand the omens are looking good for their princely challengers, Djokovic and Murray, who have thus far breezed through their draws, and look to materialise their conspiratorial plans, hatched as they enjoyed practice bouts pre-tournament.

It would, indeed, be quite a stir in the order of things if Murray should defeat Nadal, and Djokovic should beat Federer, in the semifinals, should all four advance.

Yet so far, the trend of things may be defined by an intangible, and the advantage is held very largely by the Spaniard in this regard. It's something I can only describe as that "Grand Slam thing."

Its that intangible, but palpable sense of calm and confidence exuded by a player who has had recent success at Grand Slams.

Why Nadal managed to wrap up Tomic in three, when it seemed to be going one set all, and why Federer had to play five against Simon, may be explained by this; Nadal's recent success has engendered an aura, a calmness, that saw him through to 7-5 from 0-4; but Federer looked visibly lesser than his opponent, as Simon gained momentum in the third and fourth sets in the second round.

It is that ability to ride his opponent's momentum, maintaining all the while that psychological superiority, which Federer used to have in abundance but now lacks, that seems to be the biggest difference—not only between the Federer of old and the Federer of now, but between Federer and Nadal, his greatest rival.

Murray and Djokovic, for all their success so far, have not proven themselves, yet, at the highest level. Might that this week is their moment of truth? It is hard to say.

But for all their weakness so far, the advantage, heading into the second week, should lie with the two men who have dominated the slams in the last seven years: Federer and Nadal.