The Swiss lost five games in a row as he dropped the fourth set but recovered to win 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 3-6 6-1.

Federer, 36, becomes only the fourth player after Margaret Court, Serena Williams and Steffi Graf to win 20 or more major singles titles.

The final was played under the Rod Laver Arena roof as the tournament’s extreme heat policy was invoked.

Despite starting at 19:30 local time in Melbourne, the conditions were if anything more testing than 24 hours earlier, when Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep played to the point of exhaustion in the women’s final.

With the roof closed and air-conditioning taking the edge off the temperature, Federer and Cilic played out a gripping contest over three hours and two minutes.

After a poor start, Cilic looked to have the momentum when he won five games in a row to force a fifth set, but Federer clung on to his serve at the start of the decider and got the key break in the following game.

The Swiss ties the record for men’s Australian Open titles at six with Novak Djokovic and Roy Emerson, and moves four clear of Rafael Nadal in the all-time list for male Grand Slam champions on 20.

–

Source: BBC

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All hail Aduana, new kings of Ghanaian football

When Aduana Stars started assembling very good pieces from last season, the talk was that they were getting ready to win the Ghana Premier League.

Noah Martey was purchased from Bechem United while Zakaria Mumuni joined from WAFA. The likes of Derrick Sasraku and Godfred Saka were maintained together with Daniel Darkwah and that meant that you had a solid base and a good mix of new players; the right mix for a Premier League challenge and they duly delivered.

They went unbeaten until Week 8 and maybe that was why their coach Yusif Abubakar said that he knew they would win the title.

The performance, in my opinion, which underlined their seriousness was the 3-3 draw with Hearts of Oak in Accra. The refereeing on the day from Prince Amoah was very dodgy but Aduana took the lead three times in that game and they played without any fear.

A closer look at the statistics reveals just how well they set themselves up for the title.

They lost none of their home matches and they have lost only four of their 14 away matches played so far (the 15th is at AshGold on final day). Their away record produced only 18 out of 45 points but those points were a very healthy buffer for the 12 home games they won.

Clearly, they knew their way round the league and they worked for their title.

WAFA could have made it tougher but a lack of ambition, at least in my mind, shown by their head coach Klavs Rasmussen took the league away from them.

With Bolga All Stars already relegated, the fight for survival has become more important for the 8 teams lying between 8th and 15th place.

They are separated by just 3 points and any failures on final day could sink any two of them. Things just got hotter!!!

Jose Smart or Jose Scared at Anfield?

By 1:30 pm on Saturday October 14, the debate surrounding the match between Liverpool and Manchester United had been broken into two very distinct camps.

One camp said that Joe Mourinho should have gone for the victory against the old enemy. The Liverpool defence had been poor and they did not have Sadio Mane and thus, staying compact was not ambitious enough.

The other camp believed that the point was good for a season of 38 matches. They stated that the battle was long and arduous and so, a point gained at a team that knows how to play the big games and will slaughter your team if you attempt exchanging blows with it is important.

Both camps hold very valid stances but I go with the second group. Liverpool love this match and they were primed to deliver the death blow had Man United tried to go gung-ho at them.

Of course, Man United could have attempted to build more as the game wore on and they could have been rewarded but Liverpool did not also let themselves go completely. They always had their midfield in place because for once, they recognised their shortcomings and they did not also want to risk getting sucker-punched.

Is that also not self-preservation? Man United have rarely dominated Liverpool at Anfield. They have played on the counter and they have saved themselves from defeat so many times.

Only 15 goals were scored in Sir Alex Ferguson’s last 16 trips to Liverpool. Jose Mourinho is not the first Man United to think about not losing. A point gained will be handy later.

The Federer Express delivered in Shanghai

It has been a great year for both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Like phoenixes, the two men have risen from injury to go past every one and their latest meeting in the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Sunday stressed the great form they were both in.

But the match and the year’s subscription of gloating belonged to Roger Federer.

I saw him win the Australian Open early this year and I wondered if he could keep going. He has done so and Sunday’s showing was even more dominant. He won 6-4, 6-3 and recorded ten aces while doing so.

Federer, in his older years, has played with a lot of calmness and focus. He does not overfuss in his decision-making and the shot selection is even more exquisite.

No one knows if he will win a lot of major titles in coming years because Novak Djokovic will return and Nadal seems to have the aggression and determination to want to keep going.

But Federer, on Sunday, reminded all of us that with proper planning and great choices in terms of tournament, he could win a few more before calling it a day.

Notable mention to Mauro Icardi.

I am not a huge fan of Inter Milan’s Argentine captain but overlooking his performance in the Milan Derby on Sunday will be very wrong.

He gave a very good shift and like all great strikers, he got his goal. Infact, he got three; my favourite being his improvised sliced volley from Ivan Perisic (who I think Man United should have signed) to make the score 2-1.

Great workout ahead of Inter’s clash with Napoli next weekend. I am not missing that one.

That’s it for this week, folks.

Hit me up on Twitter @nathan_quao

The post QUAO’s Monday Moanings: GH Footy kings, Jose smart or scared, Federer show in Shanghai appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The 35-year-old Swiss won 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3 to claim his fifth Melbourne title and extend his lead at the top of the all-time men’s major winners’ list.

Nadal, 30, remains tied in second with Pete Sampras on 14 Grand Slams following his first final since 2014.

Federer’s previous major title came at Wimbledon in 2012.

“I’ve been coming here for almost 20 years now,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed it and now my family does too.

“Thanks again for everything, to everybody. I hope to see you next year. If not, this was a wonderful run here and I can’t be more happy to win.”

He becomes the first man in history to win five or more titles at three different Grand Slam events – five Australian Opens, five US Opens and seven Wimbledons.

Nadal was also on the way back from injuries that curtailed his 2016 season, but the Spaniard could not improve his winning record against Federer – the Swiss has now won 12 of their 35 matches and three of nine major finals.

“I worked very hard to get where I am,” said Nadal. “I fight a lot, probably Roger deserved it a little bit more than me.

“I’m just going to keep trying. I feel I am back at a very high level.”

The return of one of the great tennis rivalries to the Grand Slam final stage led to huge anticipation, and it lived up to the billing over three hours and 37 minutes.

A match of wild momentum swings ended with a purple patch from Federer that saw him win the last five games, and clinch the title thanks to confirmation from a Hawk-Eye challenge.

Federer leapt in the air in celebration and, after consoling close friend Nadal, broke down in tears as his wife Mirka and his team celebrated in the stands.

“Tennis is a tough sport,” said Federer. “There are no draws. If there were I would have been happy to accept one and share it with Rafa.

“Everybody says they work very hard – I do the same – but I try not to shout about it. I’d like to thank my team. It’s been a different last six months. I didn’t think I’d make it but here I am.”

The injury lay-offs meant Federer was seeded 17th in Melbourne and Nadal ninth, but the Swiss will now return to the world’s top 10 and Nadal will move up to sixth.

Federer finishes with a flourish

There were moments of genius from both players – a stunning forehand angled winner from Nadal as he dominated the fourth set, a breathtaking 26-stroke rally in the fifth that ended with a crushing Federer forehand – but in the end the attacking instincts of Federer held sway.

He dropped just four points on serve in the first set, breaking serve after a brilliant drive volley in game seven, only for Nadal to race 4-0 clear in the second.

Federer recovered one of the breaks but it was not enough as Nadal served out to love to level the match, and then heaped on the pressure early in the third.

With the momentum slipping away, Federer came up with three aces on break points to nudge ahead in the first game – and it proved to be a decisive moment.

A magical half-volley forehand helped Federer get the break in the next game and he rolled through the set for the loss of just one game.

Neither had been able to produce their very best consistently and it was Federer’s turn to leak forehand errors as he fell behind in the fourth set, and Nadal appeared the stronger as they headed into a decider.

Federer needed an off-court medical time-out, just as he had before the fifth set of his semi-final against Stan Wawrinka, and he had treatment to his thigh on the changeover as he fell 3-1 behind.

Despite his physical issues, Federer continued to press on the Nadal serve, earning break points in each game until he finally converted a sixth to level at 3-3.

The Rod Laver Arena crowd roared as the Swiss swept through a service game and then broke again in a dramatic game, winning a 26-stroke rally that will rank among the best ever.

Closing out a Grand Slam final was never going to be easy after five years, and Federer had to recover from 15-40 before firing a forehand onto the line and waiting for Hawk-Eye to confirm it was a historic winner.

–

Source: BBC

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