It is a Final that no one see it coming. After a good 10 years, finally we have a men’s Grand Slam final with none of big four (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray) in it.  I love the four boys, but I guess it is about time that we have new boys breaking through. We need fresh faces!

Roger losing to Marin Cilic in straight sets was definitely shocking, particularly since Roger has never lost to Cilic in their previous 5 meetings. I have been hearing about how well Cilic is playing now after being coach by fellow countryman Goran Ivanisevic. (Btw, CheeseBoy is a big fan of Goran) But Roger losing by straight sets had never crossed my mind.

Kei, on the other hand, being coached by Michael Chang, has definitely shown some maturity in his recent games. His backhand is definitely one of his great weapons now, coupled with good mental strength which I believe Chang has instilled in him. He played so well against Novak, and we all know how that Novak is a fighter! (CheeseBoy: Typical Serb defense. Difficult to break.)

Who has the edge? I honestly don’t know! On paper, Kei has the advantage with him leading their head-to-head count 5 to 2. Being Asian I am definitely rooting for Kei all the way. Should he win the Final, he will be the first Asian to be a Grand Slam. How awesome is that? (CheeseBoy is still kicking himself that he didn’t ask for Kei’s signature when we bumped into him at DoubleTree’s Makan Kitchen couple of years ago.)

 I think today’ match is going to be all about mental strength rather than skills. Both players are playing in the Slam final for the first time. Nerves is definitely going to be an issue here. May the best man win!

The match will start at 5.00 pm US EST (that’s 5.00 am Malaysia time). Guess I better go to bed now to make sure I’ll wake up on time to catch the match.

P/S: Kei, should you win this please, please don’t skip KL Open!