February 4, 2008 Djokovic Claims Aussie Open Crown, Makes History By Luke Simcoe L- a safe bet to say that this year’s Australian Open didn’t exactly turn out as expected. Almost all of the top seeds were eliminated, and the next generation of tennis stars led a procession of giant- killing that claimed the scalps of Justine Henin, Rafael Nadal, Third-seeded Djokovic stunned the king of the court, beating him in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6. The strong play exhibited by both rising stars was solid enough to give fans the first Grand Slam tennis final in almost three years without the presence of Nadal or Federer. Throughout both Williams sisters, ggyy > ° the tournament, Lindsey Davenport, Djokovic became Federer watched and of course, world his dominant — grip number one, Roger the fourth- on the court slip as Federer. he encountered a oungest player to ees ie y § peaty number of tiebreakers biggest story of the tournament was the breakout play of unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, ranked only 38" in the world, who steamrolled over Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet, Mikhail Youzhny, and number two seed Rafael Nadal, en route to his final match against Novak Djokovic. Tsonga, whose passing resemblance to a young Mohammed Ali had the media swooning, absolutely routed Nadal in the semis, beating him in straight sets for a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 victory. On the other side of the draw, Serbian Novak Djokovic sent Lleyton Hewitt and fifth-seed David Ferrer packing before avenging his U.S. Open final loss to Roger Federer in the semis. claim the title.” and was pushed to a dramatic five set finish against Serbian Janko Tipsarevic in the third round. In contrast, Djokovic coasted into the finals without dropping a single set. This would change in the final match, as Tsonga, making his first Grand Slam final appearance, came out swinging and took the first set from Djokovic 6-4. However, the young Serbian would find his resolve, and he put on an impressive display of defensive tennis to claim the title with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 win over the upstart Frenchman. “You feel the expectations and pressure, so I’m very happy with the way I dealt with the pressure,” Djokovic said. “Coming on against a player with nothing to lose—he was going for the shots and he was very dangerous, especially in the first set—I was pretty nervous.” Djokovic, or the ‘Djoker’ as he is affectionately referred to, collapsed to the court after Tsonga sent a forehand sailing long on match point. Victorious in only his second Grand Slam final appearance, Djokovic, at 20 years old, became the fourth-youngest player to claim the Australian title, and the first Serbian to win a Grand Slam. Throughout the match, the Serbian received constant support from his family and friends in his box, and they were the first thing on his mind after his win. “First, before I thank everybody in this world, I want to thank everybody in my box, who’ve supported me all the way through, not just these two weeks, all the way in my life,” Djokovic said. “Thank you very much, I love you.” Things progressed a little less dramatically on the women’s side. Fifth seed Maria Sharapova proved she was finally over a nagging shoulder injury by trouncing world number one Justine Henin 6-4, 6-0 in the quarters on her way to a final victory against third seed Ana Ivanovic, the young Serbian who bested Venus Williams earlier in the tournament. Ve Vancouver Canucks have their eye on future NHLer Fabian Brunnstrom, a young Swedish winger currently playing for Farjestad in the Swedish Elite League, where he has earned extremely good totals of seven goals and 29 points in 35 games. Brunnstrom, 23, has practically appeared out of thin air. After being passed over in all of his eligible NHL drafts, the high-scoring Brunnstrom has quietly honed his game and become one of the most interesting players not in the NHL. An absolute wizard with the puck, Brunnstrom's development has been uncanny. He played last season in the Swedish Division 2 league and won the scoring championship with 73 points in only 43 games played. Brunnstrom was never drafted and no longer can be. That means that Canucks Eye Swedish Prospect By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor he is an unrestricted free agent and is at liberty to sign a deal with whomever he wants. Brunnstrom and his agent, the respected J.P. Barry, have created a short list of five teams of which Brunnstrom would like to sign, and that has since been narrowed down to three: The Detroit Red Wings, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Vancouver Canucks. He is expected to sign to one of these teams by no later than May. Not being selected in the draft may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Brunnstrom. Had he been taken late in the proceedings, he wouldn’t have been able to negotiate for half the money he will likely make when he signs as a UFA. It is expected that he will be paid right up to the rookie salary cap. Brunnstrom is a natural fit as the long sought winger for the Sedin line. His ability has progressed so much that many scouts believe that he will be capable of playing in the NHL as early as next season. “He has gone from a nobody to a player who really has made a name for himself. He has a lot of talent, for sure,” said Vancouver’s top European scout Thomas Gradin. “He’s a big player who can skate and he’s a very fast skater for his size. He’s a very good prospect.” Vancouver and Detroit are both appealing to Brunnstrom, as they both have large contingents of Swedish players. The Canucks have Markus Naslund, the Sedin twins, Mathias Ohlund, and Alexander Edler. The Red Wings have Nicklas Lidstrom, Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom, Nicklas Kronwall, Andreas Lilja and Mikhael Samuelsson. If the Canucks can lock up Brunnstrom, they will be getting a player who has been compared to Swedish superstar Daniel Alfredsson, the Ottawa Senators’ captain who was taken 133" overall in the 1994 draft at age 21.