Australian Open 2008: Awaiting for the nail-biting match between Nadal and Tsonga

Nadal will definitely have all the fans' support in the semifinal match.

All Rafa's (although I prefer to call him Nadal) fans around the world will be eagerly waiting for this match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the semifinal at the Australian Open.

I haven't really watch Tsonga played until last night, the match against Mikhail Youzhny. I wasn't impressed when he beat Andy Murray and Richard Gasquet but when I saw him played in the quarterfinal yesterday, I realized how dangerous and threatening this Frenchman is.

Tsonga is enjoying the best moment in his life,
his breakthrough in the men's tennis.

Tsonga could create another upset and deny Rafael Nadal a chance to play in the final at the Australian Grand Slam for the first time. After all, Youzhny was the guy who beat Nadal few weeks ago at the Chennai Open final.

He looked so relaxed and calm even in the most crucial moment, when he needed to close the deal in straight sets during the tiebreak against Youzhny.

Nadal in deep thoughts strategizing to move into
the final at the Australian Open for the first time.

Nobody exactly knows Tsonga's style because he is basically not 'the star' before the 2008 Australian Open starts. Hopefully Nadal will stretch him more and make him run around and keeping up with the balls all the time.

Whatever the result is, this year is going to be an exciting for all tennis fans. At least we know tennis is not heading towards something like the F-1 where only the big guns win.

What you can do with tennis balls

Tennis can be very stressful even for us, the fans and viewers.

You'll probably be spending 2 to 5 hours just by watching one match. And if you get to watch a match like the other day between Leyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis, you have to choose between your precious sleep or witness the latest finish in Grand Slam history.

But tennis is not just about stress. There are some lighter sides of tennis too.

The theme for today is 'What you can do with tennis balls'.

If you get to see tennis beauty like Ana Ivanovic,
you have to show your balls and ask her for autographs!

Grab some tennis balls from the ball boy and show off some juggling skills.

You can clown around like me with a red nose or a tennis ball like Leyton Hewitt.

Or you can grab attention at the Australian Open with a disastrous hairstyle.

(Almost all images from Getty Images)

Tennis match is not your ideal place for dating...

... unless you are a celebrity like Nicole Kidman or Keith Urban.

You see, unlike the movie theaters, the tennis court is really bright. You also need to stay put and be silence during the match. And gazing into your partner's eyes, you'll probably missed the best shot of the tournament. If you are talking about the Grand Slam like the Australian Open, the tickets already cost you a bomb.

Well, if you are a celebrity, you don't mind all that. The match is not as important as to prove to the media that your marriage is not on the rock.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban not exactly watching Leyton Hewitt and Novak Djokovic playing at the centre court.

No wonder Hewitt lost in straight sets. He didn't get full support from fellow Australians.

Australian Open 2008: Marcos Baghdatis in anti-Turks row

Probably this is one of the most controversial Grand Slam ever. Earlier of the week, we heard about clash between the police and some spectators who appears to be Greek supporters. Then Sania Mirza was accused of being disrespect to her national flag.

And now, Marcos Baghdatis who has just beaten Marat Safin, has landed himself in a bigger mess. He has been accused of being racist.

Want a kiss? I think people want him out instead.

Marcos Baghdatis has appeared in a YouTube video showed the Cypriot socializing with a group of Greek supporters called Hellas Fan Club (HFC). In the video, Baghdatis was holding a red flare above his head and chanting anti-Turkish slogans with others.



Baghdatis' home island of Cyprus has been a flashpoint for ethnic tensions since winning independence from Britain in 1960. Turkey invaded and occupied part of the island in 1974 in the wake of an attempted coup by Greek Cypriots.

Baghdatis said he just wanted the matter to go away.

"There has been a lot of coverage of me appearing in a video on youtube.com," he said in a statement.

"In that video from 2007, I was supporting the interest of my country, Cyprus, while protesting against a situation that is not recognised by the United Nations.

"Now I would like to concentrate on the tournament and ask everyone to respect that. I love the Australian Open and want to do well here."

The Hellas Fan Club, which is part of a worldwide network of supporters of Hellenic athletes, said the slogans chanted had been misconstrued.

"The 'Turks out of Cyprus' chant is directed towards the well documented illegal occupation of Cyprus, and is not directed towards citizens of the Turkish ethnic minority," it said in a statement.

Earlier in the tournament, Baghdatis defended the Greek supporters involved in the ugly scenes this week during a match between Chilean Fernando Gonzalez and Konstantinos Economidis of Greece.

The Australian Turkish Cypriot Cultural and Welfare Association on Friday demanded an apology from Baghdatis.

"This is a straight-forward provocation of our community and he is playing a different game to sport, he is not being a sportsman and should apologise," president Hakki Suleyman told reporters.

Baghdatis is scheduled to play Australian Lleyton Hewitt today.