Aussie Open in review

By Tom Kosinski Sports Central Columnist

Hey, guys and gals, it's been a long time! Yes, I've missed you all, but I have to admit I missed pro tennis more. The break from November to the Australian Open in January was just too much for me to bear. I'm like a tennis junkie. If I don't get my regular fix, I go into a painful withdrawal. I have a collection of classic matches on video, which is like my tennis methadone. Gets me over the withdrawal pains, but doesn't cure my dependency.

Okay, enough of that. The Aussie Open was about the best I've seen in a while. There was some incredible tennis. From the first serve off of home-girl Samantha Stosur's Volkl racquet to the Hall of Fame performances of Younes El-Anoui and Andy Roddick in the majestic 21-19 fifth set quarterfinal, there was something for everyone. Roddick's performance alone, coming back from two sets down in the fourth round to winning that fifth set for the ages, was worth the price of admission. While A-Rod did not scale the heights we all expected him to, he gave us our money's worth and then some.

Not to be outdone, the women were just as great. Emelie Loit almost ended the "Serena Slam" before it started. Her three-set fight with the Williams sister supreme came brought her to within a hair of tennis trivia immortality. Drop shots, touch around the net, and an unusually consistent big lefty forehand took Serena Williams to the edge of oblivion, but in the end, the French damsel just couldn't stop the strong and fast moving train that was Serena. Kim Clijsters, fresh off her November defeat of Serena in the season-ending WTA Tour championships, held two match points against Serena in the semis, only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory at the end of the night.

Let's not forget Venus Williams, who clearly carried the sister act to the women's doubles title. Venus faced off against little sister Serena in her fourth straight Grand Slam final, waging the very first bonafide war between the girls outside of the Williams' Florida homestead. Even with the million unforced errors, the three-set final was a battle from beginning to end, and hopefully will be the standard that all future Williams sisters finals will surpass.

Okay, so you are all asking, what about Andre Agassi? Simple. Andre rocked, but I think his best moment of the rock show down under was during his winner's speech on court, where the crowd egged him to thank his lovely wife, Steffi Graff and he replied, "Hey, buddy, I don't talk about your wife!" Perfectly timed, said in the perfect witty tone. I feel for Rainier Schuttler, who apparently knew he was going to lose before he ever stepped out on the court and therefore never really showed up. It was nice to see him get this far, as his German Davis Cup team spot was in jeopardy last year, being slated for replacement by soon-to-be Hall of Famer Boris Becker. Number eight for Andre. Now not just a great star, but an all-time immortal.

So, you ask, why do I miss Martina Hingis? No, it's not my somewhat weird infatuation with the Swiss Miss, or the fact that she somehow has a knack for always upstaging her regular doubles partner, Anna Kournikova. I miss her tennis. No one, not any man, not any woman on the WTA Tour, has her game.

I have said it before here, she is the current day female Ken Rosewall. She has every shot. She has the footwork. She has the ability to hit the right spot at the right time. Her serve is weak, but effective. While others have written her off because of her relatively soft serve and lack of power, I have not forgotten that she has won a few Grand Slams, and that she was a point away from winning the Australian Open this time last year. She is still the only woman on the tour to beat the Williams sisters back-to-back in more than one tournament, and still the only woman who can beat any woman on the tour at any time. Without her, there is a great void.

I'm calling out to you, Martina. I hope you can hear me. Please come back. It's okay to take a break, it's okay for you to spend some time finding yourself. But your place is on the court. If there was anyone who could ever light up a court, it's you. Until you return. it will be Venus and Serena in every final. Until you return, there will be no real threat on the women's tour.

If you want, I'll coach you, I'll wait on you hand and foot. If you need me to clean and polish your funky fluorescent yellow racquets, I'll do it with glee. If there ever was a time to come back, this is it. Your shot-making, your spirit are missed. Simply put, yes, I loved watching Agassi win, I reveled in Roddick's epic quarterfinal, I even cheered as Serena and Venus proved that tennis still belongs to the American women. But I miss you, Martina. Please come home.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.