Nalbandian Ousted

David Nalbandian, who was viewed by game experts as a major
threat to Federer's pursuit for his third successive Australian
Open crown, was ousted by Juan Carlos Ferrero in their third
round match. A seemingly rusty Nalbandian, who had earlier
pulled out of the pre-tournament warm-up in Kooyong with
muscle spasms in his back, lost to Ferrero in straight sets,
6-1 6-2 6-3. Ferrero now plays David Ferrer in the fourth round. 

Can Federer Make it Three in a Row?

With Australian Open kickstarted in the new Plexicushion surface,  
the big question that most tennis lovers ask is will 2008 also witness
the dominance of Roger Federer in grand slam events? Well, while it is
too early to comment, given the note in which 2007 tennis season
ended, there is enough reason to believe that it won't be a smooth sail
in the offing for the current world no.1. Argentinian David Nalbandian
and Djokovic are potential threats to Federer, alongside his clay court
nemesis Rafel Nadal and Guillermo Canas, even though for the latter,
 his form had deserted him as 2007 wore down. Let us wait and see how
all these players fare in Australian Open, and hopefully that'll set the
tune for 2008.

Madrid Masters

David Nalbandian, ranked 25, stunned Federer by coming from one set down to take
the next two quite comfortably to dethrone the world no.1 as the 2007 Madrid Masters
champion. Enroute to the final, Nalbandian had defeated no.2 Rafael Nadal and no.3 Novak Djokovic, the first player to do so after Boris Becker, before eventually conquering Federer.
This is Nalbandian's first victory over the world no.1 in their last 9 meetings.