What a match. Andre Agassi displayed his fighting skills and superior fitness in a thrilling 5-set victory over Marcos Baghdatis, 6-4 6-4 3-6 5-7 7-5. The 21 year old Baghdatis succumbed to cramps late in the fifth, while Agassi, 36, seemed to be moving fine thanks to the cortisone shot he received following his first round victory. Agassi has made breaking down his opponents physically a trademark of his play - I’ll never forget the 2001 Australian Open semi-final when he was trailing one of my idols, Patrick Rafter, two sets to one, when Rafter also succumbed to cramps and eventually lost the match.

Andre plays a forehand shot during his epic victory over Marcos Baghdatis

Thursday night’s match was one of the most exciting in recent memory, and the atmosphere at Arthur Ashe stadium must have been electric. At certain times throughout the match, you could see the emotion on Agassi’s face. In the 4th set, Agassi blew a 4-0 lead to lose the set 5-7, and he admitted in the post-match interview with John McEnroe that he choked.

In the next round, Agassi plays Benjamin Becker of Germany, who is playing in his first US Open. Supporters of Agassi will be hoping that he will have a relatively easy match against Becker, as Agassi’s first two matches have been very lengthy and challenging. If Agassi manages to win his next match and progress through to the 4th round, he would most likely face fellow American Andy Roddick. In what could be a very symbolic match between the old and new of American tennis, Roddick could find himself holding the short-end of the stick for the first time in New York when it comes to crowd support - it would be one heck of a match.

Gritty performance from the unseeded Andre Agassi in the first round of the US Open tonight, with Agassi prevailing in 4 sets (6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-2).The first 3 sets went to tie breaks, with Pavel winning the first set and Agassi fighting back to win the next two sets in the tiebreaks. In the third set, Agassi came back from 4-0 to force the tiebreak, in which he won 8-6.

Andre serves in his first round match against Andrei Pavel

The crowd was electric from the moment Agassi took the court, but it is evident that age is finally catching up with the great champion who now struggles to dispatch opponents who in year’s past would not have troubled him in the slightest. Pavel played a brilliant match, but it was a match where Agassi was nowhere near his best.

Agassi will face the extremely talented Marcos Baghdatis (finalist in the Australian Open and semi-finalist at Wimbledon this year) in the second round. It will be a good sign of where Agassi is in his game at the moment, and if he can make his way in to third round, he will have a good chance of making it deep into the second week of the tournament. One thing is for sure - anyone that comes up against him will have to face the pro-Agassi crowd as well as the great man himself.

Roger Federer won his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title, overcoming a fierce challenge from his nemisis, Rafael Nadal. Many thought Nadal wouldn’t make it to the final of Wimbledon, but he proved to all that he is a legitimate power in tennis, and not just on clay.

The first set of the final was very similar to that of the French Open final, where Federer came out and blitzed Nadal off the court 6-1. In yesterday’s final, Federer came out and took the first set 6-0. This time, however, Federer held his nerve in the second set. Despite having his serve broken, he was able to break back when Nadal was serving for the set and force a tiebreak, which Federer won 7-5. Both players held serve in the third set forcing another tiebreak, which Nadal won 7-2, forcing a fourth set. Federer came out on fire in the fourth set, breaking Nadal twice to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Unthinkably, Federer got nervous when serving for the match and was broken by Nadal, giving him a sniff of a comeback. Nadal held his serve, making it 5-3 and leaving Federer serving for the match once again. This time he made no mistake and defeated Nadal only for the second time in eight meetings.

This was probably the most important victory in Federer’s career. A loss to Nadal at Wimbledon would definitely have damaged Federer mentally. Losing on clay to Nadal is one thing, but if Federer were to have lost at Wimbledon, it would be hard for him to recover from such a blow. It is great to see a player that is not defeated before even walking out on the court against Federer. The two previous number one players in the world, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick, will probably never seriously challenge Roger Federer again, as they don’t believe they are capable of beating him. Lleyton Hewitt even said that he thought Roger was going to win the title. A Nadal victory over Federer at Wimbledon may have shown the other players that he is beatable. As it stands though, Federer has clearly displayed that he is one of the greatest players of all-time. He is now over halfway towards reaching Pete Sampras’ record of 14 grand slam titles. I believe that once he is finished with his career, Roger Federer will own the record and will be known as the greatest player to have ever picked up a tennis racquet.

France’s Amelie Mauresmo won the women’s Wimbledon final, and in doing so, took revenge on Belgium’s Justine Henin-Hardenne, who at this year’s Australian Open, retired in the second set after being thoroughly dominated, denying Mauresmo the chance to experience winning on championship point. However, at Wimbledon today, Mauresmo was not denied that honour.

After losing the first set to Henin-Hardenne 6-2, Mauresmo never really looked troubled again in the match. The major reason Mauresmo spent 7 years between Grand Slam finals (the 1999 Australian Open through the 2006 Australian Open) was that her nerves plagued her in the big matches. Those nerves weren’t visible today, and after the first set, Mauresmo never looked like losing the match. There is no doubt that the Frenchwoman was especially motivated not to lose to Henin-Hardenne after what took place at the Australian Open. It’s amazing how a rivalry where you believe that you have been wronged by a player, whom you considered your friend, will motivate you to acheive what previously seemed out of reach. With two Grand Slam titles this year and potentially ridding herself of past demons, Mauresmo has cemented her place as the top women’s tennis player in the world - for the moment at least.

Mauresmo holds the most coveted trophy in women’s tennis

Now the French soccer team has to defeat Italy in the World Cup final tomorrow to cap off what could potentially be a fantastic weekend for France.

So much to watch, so little time! This is going to be a fantastic weekend of sport. In the World Cup, you have the third place match between Germany and Portugal, then there is the Final between France and Italy the following day. Germany should dispose of the Portuguese, and I believe that Oliver Kahn is going to have a great game in goals. I have previously spoken about the final, and I still believe that France is going to come away with the victory in what should be a great end to a fantastic World Cup. Look for Zidane to win the Golden Ball as the most outstanding player in the tournament.

Unfortunately, as luck would have it, both men’s and women’s finals at Wimbledon will be played during World Cup action - it would be nice to have picture-in-picture, but I don’t - so it will be a tough choice between watching the third place match and the women’s final tomorrow between Amelie Mauresmo and Justine Henin-Hardenne. This is a replay of this year’s controversial Australian Open final, when Henin-Hardenne retired when she was down 6-1 2-0, complaining of stomach pains - or as I like to call them ’sore loser symptoms.’ I know that is a bit harsh, but you should (short of a major injury) NEVER retire in the final of a grand slam, especially when you are getting beaten the way she was. It leaves a bad taste in supporters’ mouths, and it certainly did that for me. I’ll be hoping Mauresmo can come through for her second grand slam title, but this time it would be nice for Henin-Hardenne to take her much deserved beating with a bit of grace and let Mauresmo enjoy her time in the spotlight.

It was Mauresmo consolling Henin-Hardenne, instead of enjoying her victory

In the men’s final, it’s a rematch of the French Open final - Federer vs Nadal, the two top ranked players in the world. I read a great article at si.com yesterday about their rivalry in which Federer states that he would love to play Nadal on grass. Federer went on to say that “I’ve lost so many times against him on his favorite surface; I’ve gotten so, so close. Obviously I’d like to play him here four or five times, but grass is such a short season. I’m lucky enough my strength is also on clay, on hard court, indoor: That’s what he’s still working on. That’s also why I’m by far the No. 1 player in the world.” Although what Federer says it true, he has to be worried about facing Nadal on grass. Federer has lost 6 times to Nadal in 7 matches, and in the one match he did win, he had to came back from down 2 sets and 4-1 in the third to win. Nadal was not expected to make it to the final at Wimbledon - although he is quite capable on hard courts and is the world’s premier clay courter, he has never proven anything on grass. It’s for this reason that Federer has to be concerned. Wimbledon is Federer’s baby, rarely has he been challenged on the grass courts in the past 3 years since he made his climb to the top of the sport. If he loses to Nadal in the final of his favourite tournament, I don’t know how he will recover. I think this has all the ingredients to be one of the classic Wimbledon finals. I think Nadal is going to really trouble Federer in the final, especially if the young Spaniard can win the first set. With this being said, I still expect Federer to win, but it won’t be a dominating victory.

Defeat is something Federer has not been used to in recent years

Back in Australia, the Bledisloe Cup gets underway this weekend. New Zealand currently hold the cup, but the Aussies will be looking to win it back after losing it to the Kiwis 3 years ago. The Wallabies have been in pretty good form, but the All Blacks have been playing just as well. It should be a great game, and as soon as I see it I’ll write an update on it!

The Bledisloe Cup

What a big weekend for sport! World Cup Soccer, French Open Finals, the British Formula One race, and the NBA Finals.

So far in the World Cup there have been a few exciting games, but there were far more games that were lacking excitement. The team that has really stood out so far for me is Argentina. Riquelme looked dangerous every time he touched the ball against the Ivory Coast, and I believe that without him in the lineup, the Ivory Coast probably would have won that game. What I haven’t liked so far is the form of the English team. I thought Beckham had a good game, but apart from him, the team looked very flat and they will need to turn things around if they want any chance of competing for the championship. Apart from the first ten minutes of their match, Portugal looked very average also.

So far, this is the goal of the tournament

In the French Open Finals, Justine Henin-Hardenne won her third French Open title in straight sets, 6-4 6-4. Good thing she wasn’t trailing early in the second set, otherwise she may have gotten ’stomach cramps’ again. On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer in 4 sets, 1-6 6-1 6-4 7-6. Federer came out on fire in the first set, and things really looked good for him. I really can’t explain what happened in the second set, but he totally lost his game and confidence. The third and fourth sets could have gone either way; unfortunately for Federer they didn’t go his way, and he’ll have to wait another year for the elusive French Open title he desperately wants.

Fernando Alonso won his third straight race at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. It’s looking like the championship is all but decided - especially considering he hasn’t finished any worse than second this year. It was another disappointing day for Australia’s Mark Webber, who didn’t even finish a lap after he was taken out by Ralf Schumacher, who lost control after Scott Speed nudged him while taking a corner. Speed called it a ‘racing incident’ and that he was in front of Schumacher going through the corner. I call BS on that. Speed was nowhere near in front of Schumacher going in to that corner and as a result of his ill-adviced move, he took 3 competitors out of the race.

Dallas has taken a surprising 2-0 lead over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. What is even more surprising is the fact that Shaq has been a non-factor in the series. Shaq is normally bad from the free-throw line, but 2-16 is bad even by his standards. Add that to his 22 points COMBINED in both games and that spells trouble for Miami. It will be interesting to see if they can turn it around now that the series is moving to Miami for the next two games.

Australia’s first World Cup match in 32 years is 7 hours away. I’ll be up early and late to work so I can cheer the boys on - I hope all you other Aussies will be cheering too!

Since the BBQ will be dominated with World Cup content for the next month, I thought I would highlight some other events that are going on in the world of sport before all 4 of you get annoyed with my writings on soccer.

Congratulations to the person who successfully picked the NBA finals to be between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat - even though you also picked San Antonio to win the Championship before they were eliminated in the second round. Although common sense is telling me that Miami is going to win the series (and the Championship) because of Shaq and Dwayne Wade, it’s hard to ignore any team that beats the defending champions in a game 7 while playing on the champs’ home court. Dirk Nowitzki has been unstopable for the entire playoffs, and I think he’s going to lead Dallas to the Championship.

The French Open Finals will be played over the weekend also, with the women’s competitors already decided: Svetlana Kuznetsova playing against defending champion, Justine Henin-Hardenne-Soreloser-I’m ’sick.’ I would really like Kuznetsova to win this match, but I don’t see it happening. Henin-Hardenne in straight sets. On the men’s side, it looks like we’re heading for another Federer vs Nadal final. Federer is, without a doubt, the best and most complete tennis player I have ever watched, but he always struggles against Nadal, who is the best clay courter around. I think that if they both make the final, Federer will erase his demons against Nadal by winning his first French Open title. If he manages this, I GUARANTEE that he will win the Grand Slam this year, becoming the first man since Australia’s Rod Laver to accomplish the feet.

In local BBQ news, the Portland Trail Blazers have been put up for sale. While I’m not a fan of Paul Allen in the slightest (the fact that the fifth richest man in the world can claim one of his business is bankrupt makes me sick), you can’t deny the fact that he did everything in his power to bring a Championship to Portland. He came close, too. If it wasn’t for the biggest choke in NBA history in game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals against the Lakers, Portland would have won the Championship that year. The city and the fans need a fresh start - they have become increasingly despondent with Allen, and the sale of the team is what they need in order to fall in love with the Blazers again. Anyone have a spare $300 million?

So while I was perusing the sports sites this morning I came across this article talking about Wimbledon. Before I go any further, I want to point out that I am as much a fan of women’s sports as I am of men’s sports, and I believe that they should be paid equally if they are performing at the same level. Which brings me to my argument…

Wimbledon has decided that they will not offer equal prize money for the men’s and women’s champions this year. The men’s champion will recieve 655,000 pounds and the women’s champion will receive 625,000 pounds (both totals are over $1 million). I wouldn’t mind if they did offer equal prize money like the 3 other Grand Slams do, but I also don’t think the organisers of Wimbledon should be criticised for their decision. Let’s face the facts of the matter - men play best of 5 sets and women play best of 3 sets. If women want to play best of 5 sets, then equal prize money would be a must, but they don’t and that’s why Wimbledon decided to set up the prize money this way.

Like I stated before, I am all for equality in sport - I just don’t think Wimbledon can be criticised for their decision when it makes sense.