It's No.1 vs. No.2, mate

After an otherwise completely insipid, sometimes downright disappointing series of preliminaries, the Aussie Open this year has finally brought about the confrontation we actually paid for - Nadal vs. Federer. No.1 vs. No.2.

(Side note: strange how "2" and Fedex seem so utterly mismatched, but there you have it. Besides, Rafa really earned it.)

I was severely disappointed when Djokovic was forced to forfeit his quarter-final match with Andy Roddick on account of ill health. A Djokovic-Federer match might have been predictable, but at least it would have been entertaining. Still, Roddick put up a fight in the last two sets, but didn't stand a chance against Federer's lethal combination of sixteen aces, zero double-faults and four breaks. Fed won 6-2, 7-5, 7-5.

Nadal, on the other hand, didn't have it quite so easy. He had to endure a five-and-a-quarter-hour long battle against his fellow countryman, Fernando Verdasco (rank 14), before he could move into the finals. Verdasco was powerful, but made far too many errors, salvaging himself only every now and again at the net, and the No.1 seeded Nadal prevailed with some rather brilliant forehands and a tremendous, highly memorable passing shot that drew a standing ovation from the crowd. Final score - 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (1-7), 6-4.

I'm not one for predictions, but if Nadal's fortunes are far too dependant on errors on the part of his opponent, the upcoming final is anyone's guess. Fedex seems to have regained his lustre - he can break as well as he can ace through a game, and has more experience winning on a hardcourt than Nadal.

Either way, the ball begins at midnight.

Channel Surfer

One word. (Or is it really two?)

YouTube.

Here are some channels that I think are really awesome:

1. Today, Papa Benedict himself, keeper of the keys to the kingdom of Christianity, started a channel for the Vatican!
2. Starbucks is getting into community, environmental and global initiatives in a big way - here's their channel. Mocha, anyone?
3. (You knew this was coming) - Another in President (yes, President!!!) Obama's list of firsts - a separate channel for the White House!
4. UC Berkeley has a really nice channel with lectures on a range of topics from Einstein's Theory of Relativity (which I completely understood for the first time listening to the lecture), to politics and law. Definitely worth a look.
5. I can't say I've found a talk as gripping as the one given by Sir Ken Robinson on Schools and Creativity, but the TED channel does have some pretty good ones.
   
6. National Geographic. Need I say more?
7. Rajshri - truly professional desi channel, which also has all episodes of Mahabharat and new movie trailers
8. An ongoing contest for an online collaborative symphony orchestra, planned and hosted by YouTube - I'm going to be listening.

P.S. On a separate note - apologies for the long silence. Loved the inauguration just as much as you all, though. Change is here!