And the youngster was the big winner on the tennis court at the Australian Open.
And the 23-year-old, who lost to Andy Roddick in the semi-finals last year, dismissed concerns about his form despite struggling to find his best tennis since reaching the Australian Open final in January.
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And in the case of Federer, at the Australian Open, you know Roger Federer is the best tennis player in the world and maybe the best tennis player ever - he lost.
Some other tennis venues, such as those used for the Australian Open have sliding roofs - but that tournament is on hard courts, which react differently to a living surface like grass.
Not every nation is moving as quickly as the U.S. Craig Tiley, the head of Tennis Australia's player development and tournament director for the Australian Open, which starts Monday, said he fully expects that private clubs, which run most tournaments for children in Australia, will continue to use a regular ball.
But by winning the Australian Open on Saturday, Victoria Azarenka won a big one for herself, and for tennis traditionalists who prefer their No. 1 players with a Grand Slam title on their CVs.
On Tuesday, Cypriot tennis star Marcos Baghdatis threw a spectacular on-court tantrum at the Australian open, deliberately smashing four rackets in a row during a break between sets.
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Despite the incident resulting in a one-month ban from the International Tennis Federation, a year later Tomic's father was railing at an Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley so vehemently about the scheduling of one of his son's matches that security had to be placed around the official.
The former world number one is returning to competitive tennis after an 18-month retirement and targeting the opening grand slam of 2010 at the Australian Open.
The New York-born tennis player came back strong at the end of the decade, and in 2001 won the Australian Open and the French Open on her way to becoming the world's No. 1 player that year.
But Roger Federer, like Tiger Woods, is so much better than every other tennis player that when he loses, particularly when he loses in a major - and the Australian Open is the first of the four grand slam events - when Roger Federer loses, that's the story.
Despite the incident resulting in a one-month ban from the International Tennis Federation, John was up to old his tricks a year later -- railing at Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley so vehemently about the scheduling of one of his son's matches that security was ultimately placed around the official.
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