Federer broke down in tears during his post-match speech probably because he played tennis as well as any one on the planet can for five sets—7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2—but it still was not enough. He had a great tournament and a great final match, but Nadal was just a little bit stronger. It was his fifth straight win over Federer, a streak that includes three Grand Slam finals and pretty much ending any lingering arguments about who is the best.

So that's how the day and the month begins. Let me check the schedule and see if anything else is happening today ... hmmm ... not seeing anything here, but I'm sure something will come up. More to come...

[Bloomberg]

After wiping the floor with Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3 Saturday to win the Australian Open for her 10th Grand Slam title, Serena took time to pose with her trophy in the most modest way possible.

The victory is Serena's second major win in a row and returns her to her rightful place as the number one-ranked female in the world.

And the Aussies — they love their Serena. So she says.

“I absolutely, clearly, love playing here,” the 27-year-old Williams said. “You guys root for me so much. I don’t get that everywhere. So thank you so much.”

Serena Williams Wins 10th Grand Slam Singles Title [Yahoo!]

PHOTO: ">Yahoo Sports Gallery

The story at the Australian Open was how Roddick was in the best shape of his life, and how he reached the semifinals by outlasting his less-prepared, less-hydrated opponents. Then he ran into his old nemesis Roger Federer, who promptly dispatched him in straight sets. It was the 15th time in 18 meetings that Roddick has lost to Federer and it wasn't even that close, especially after Roddick was unhinged by a tough replay call. It must be rough knowing that you're one of the best players in the world, playing some of the best tennis of your life, and yet you're still nowhere near the best of the best. At least in tennis, you can still tell a referee to "have some sack" and not get a technical for it.

That leaves the tournament one match away from the inevitable Nadal-Federer final. It would be their eighth Grand Slam final meeting and third time out of the last four—but their first meeting in Australia. I guess those two guys are pretty good.

Roddick's improved, but still can't match Federer [Fox Sports]
Australian Open scores [AustralianOpen.com]

Anyway, I guess that's how they figured it was a good idea to play a Grand Slam tennis event in the middle of January, but upon further review, the folks Down Under probably should have waited until what ever month their fall happens. (July? November? Who knows what's going on down there?) It has been unbearably hot in Melbourne this week. It was about 110F during the first set of Serena Williams' Australian Open quarterfinal match against Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova. A set that Kuznetsova won 7-5 as Serena had "an out-of-body experience." ("I felt I was watching someone play in a blue dress, and it wasn't me, because it was so hot out there," she said. "And I kept trying to tell myself that it's not hot. But it got hotter.")

So tournament officials took a 27-minute break, closed the retractable roof at Rod Laver Arena, the temperature dropped, and Williams rallied from match point—she also had her rackets restrung—to win 5-7, 7-5, 6-1. That pivotal decision to close roof has everyone asking ... shenanigans?

Just a day before, Andy Roddick played four sets on the same court, in nearly the same level of heat, and tournament officials did not close the roof... even after his opponent, defending champ Novak Djokovic, needed a medical timeout due to heat stress. (He eventually retired in the fourth set.) So why close it now? To help the biggest name left in the draw stay alive a little longer?

"I think the guys yesterday, it was the same weather. Everybody was playing with the roof (open). Why today they had to close it? I didn't get it. That was why I was angry."

"Why should I not be?" Kuznetsova said. "Game going my way. I was very comfortable playing outside. It's two different games. One you play inside; one you play outside. Serena was tough. She's playing great. I give her credit. But I don't get this rule."

Kuznetsova admits that she still blew an golden opportunity, but is the tournament playing favorites? Open officials busted out some nonsense about the "Wet Bulb Globe measure," which I think is what they call the giant weather machine that makes it 100 degrees in January. I'm on to you, you Aussie devils!

Serena to play Dementieva in Australian Open semis [AP/Google]
Ousted Kuznetsova left hot and bothered by heat policy [Guardian]

While yesterday's matches featured a bit more off-the-court action than organizers had hoped for, what with the chair-throwing mini-riot and the free-range wang-danglers, today attention was focused back on the tennis. Number one-seeded Nadal dusted off Tammy Haas in straight sets, while the fourth-seeded Murray did the same to Jurgen Melzer. The two are still on track to square off in the semis, in just the latest incarnation of that classic Spanish-Scottish rivalry.

Meanwhile, on the women's side, Serena Williams easily knocked off China's Peng Shuai (U-S-A! U-S-A!) to keep her quest for a tenth Grand Slam title on track. Serena also bravely shared her recollection of the disturbing events from her previous match:

I noticed he didn't have underwear on. I thought, 'OK, I must be seeing things.' Then I just thought, 'my eyes, my innocent eyes'

Friggin' Australians, traumatizing innocent North American athletes. Just for that, I'm deleting Flight of the Conchords from my "Scheduled Recordings" list.

Nadal, Murray dominate at Australian Open [AP]

Bosnian and Serbian spectators attacked each other with lawn chairs after the third-round Australian Open match between Serbian Novak Djokovic and Bosnian-born Amer Delic. Police arrested two men and kicked 30 people off the grounds for fighting.

Apparently, these type of outbreaks have been commonplace at the Australian Open since 2007 and police even added to security measures this year in an unsuccessful attempt to keep the violence to a minimum.

The poor woman who took the chair to the face probably wishes they did more.

Violence at Australian Open [Telegraph]

It was the first round of the Australian Open, where the only real danger usually comes from masturbating kangaroos. Daly had just hit his tee shot into the trees on the ninth hole, and trudged in to find the ball. His 6-over 78 did not have him in the best of moods. That's when Clegg tried to capture the magic moment with a few close-range photos.

Daly snatched the camera and smashed it against the nearest tree, telling the man, “You want it back, I’ll buy you a new one.” He later released a statement via tournament organizers saying Clegg got too close.

“I was looking to take a drop and a camera was 6 inches away from my face. If I was 10 under, I would have felt the same,” Daly said in the brief statement. “My eyes are still burning from the flash of the camera. I feel it was very rude to put a camera that close to somebody’s face in any situation. The guy that had the camera had already taken a dozen shots at close range.”

Said Clegg, who will not seek restitution: “I was bold, but I wasn’t unreasonable."

Daly will most likely miss the cut (as he did at the Australian Masters and the PGA in the last two weeks). He had three double bogeys, three bogeys and four birdies. So can you blame him for going off? I mean, he was arrested drunk outside a Hooters and it didn't even get him a SHOTY nomination. No respect!

Daly Grabs Fan's Camera, Smashes It Into Tree [NBCSports]

All Right Kangaroo, We Get It, It''s The Australian Open [Best Week Ever] (Ed. Note: Yes, I switched out the old quicklink because Rick really enjoys funny photos of kangaroos on the golf course in wide screen.)

Update: A reader reminds us of this. Good times.

Had it happened at Wimbledon, the sight of Tamira Paszek lunging around in a flimsy vest and straining sports bra would have left many venerable members of the All-England Club choking on their strawberries. The 17-year-old Austrian nearly pulled off the shock of the day at the Australian Open but it was more for her choice of tennis attire that she'll live long in the memories of those present. In the baking Australian heat, Paszek revealed a skimpy outift that was almost as stunning as her backhand.

The cleavage is mighty, and almost pulled off the upset on Monday: Third-seed Serbian Jelena Jankovic needed three match points to edge Paszek 2-6, 6-2, 12-10.

Come to think of it, didn't this happen last year as well?

Tennis Star's Plunging Neckline Leaves Little To The Imagination [Daily Mail]
Buy This Woman A Bra [Blogleaves]

Federer went through the Australian Open without dropping a single set, the first time that's happened since 1980. His win streak is at 36 matches, at 25-year-old, he's within four Grand Slam titles of the record held by Pete Sampras, and he's won six of the last seven majors, with the only loss coming to Nadal in last year's French Open.

Fernando Gonzalez of Chile wasn't a pushover for Federer last night. 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 was the tally. Nothing to be ashamed of there. That might be as close as anyone comes on a non-clay surface.

Hail the new all-time great 'just call me Roger' [Sydney Morning Herald]

"It was an awesome win, because I had so many critics. So many people ... saying negative things," Williams said. "Saying I wasn't fit, when I felt that I was really fit, and I could last three sets.

"It's always like, tell me no and I'll show you that I can do it. I get the greatest satisfaction just holding up the Grand Slam trophy and proving everyone wrong."

This is all very bad news for every other female on the planet who thinks they can play tennis. Serena missed almost all of last year with a knee injury, and had just three competitive matches under her belt before mowing through a major championship like Maurice Clarett goes through the cookies in the commissary.