A Dazzling Day

Waking up at 6.25am, I washed my face, threw some clothes on, grabbed my camera and made my way up Lorong Sekilau 17 to the top of the mound. There I witnessed the beginning of the new day as the earth rotated into view of the fiery ball we call the Sun. The scenes were, as usual, but in different ways, stunning.

This all occurred before 7.05am and then it was all over. I can't believe what I've been missing out on by mindlessly sleeping through this daily feast from the skies.

Later this evening I felt privileged to be playing badminton (albeit with tennis strokes very much in mind) under peach coloured clouds beneath clear blue skies. It produced a wonderfully warm lighting effect.

Waking up to see the sunrise has become an integral part of my day. It is both a peaceful and powerful, awe-inspiring, fleeting moment which deeply impresses upon my mind each morning.

Manchester Derby Day

My throat is still a little heavy and sore this morning. I sound like when I was an adolescent going through puberty with that suddenly deep voice breaking through my voicebox. Thanks to Michael Owen's unbelievable stoppage time winner, this condition might last all day.

It was the return of Carlos Tevez which was one of the main talking points in the lead-up to the match.

He was roundly booed every time he touched the ball which I thought was just a little harsh given the work rate and effort he put into his two years with the red half of Manchester. The Old Trafford crowd were particularly happy when he was cautioned midway through the first half.

And it all started so brightly for Man. Utd with Wayne Rooney ghosting into the box, and in an act which I can only decribe as the parting of the blue sea, Man. City's defenders crumbled around him as he slotted the ball under Given for a rapid start.

Ben Foster made a blunder for Man. City's equaliser, allowing Tevez to chase down a lost cause, nab the ball from his grasp and square for Gareth barry to slot home from 12 yards. It was a day full of mistakes from both sides, but Foster's gaffe was an absolute gift.

United came out of the blocks quickly in the second half, the majestic Giggs crossing perfectly for Fletcher to head home four minutes after the interval. But within minutes, Man. City had levelled again when United's defence simply allowed Bellamy all the time in the world to cut inside and fire an unstoppable shot into the top corner.

Man Utd were dominating the second period though and if it wasn't for Shay Given they would have been out of sight. With ten minutes remaining Giggs sent over a wonderful ball which Fletcher met again for a carbon copy of his earlier goal, to surely give United the three points.

But awfully for Ferdinand, he gifted the ball to Bellamy in the 90th minute as he tried to scoop it over his head, failing miserably. Bellamy ran the length of the United half and calmly tucked it past Foster from an acute angle. How I laid in to Rio after that. I really thought his lazy error had cost us the game.

With four minutes added-on time, United pushed to find a winner. When Rooney stood over a free-kick near the half-way line, the clock had already spilled over to it's sixth minute. When that free-kick was headed away by the first defender, I expected to hear the referee's whistle and two points lost, but it didn't come. Amazingly, the game continued. Perhaps Richards and Wright-Philipps were expecting the same, because they completely switched off in what happened next. Rooney lofted the ball skywards and when Giggs collected the loose ball, he threaded a perfect pass through the gap to the on-rushing Owen. I don't remember him touching the ball once since he came on, but this first touch was elegant and his second touch was even better, slotting the ball over Given's despairing hand and into the bottom corner of the net.

Old Trafford erupted, my apartment erupted, it was the most complete and utter joyous disbelief!

Mark Hughes will be livid about the amount of stoppage time added on, but Alex Feguson was ecstatic at putting Man. City back in their place with a 4-3 win and all bragging rights safely with the red half of Manchester as it should be. Michael Owen proved what a world-class, quality finisher he is with this two-touch cameo to bring the points to Old Trafford. What a fantastic match and a most dramatic ending!

COME ON UNITED!

Aquarium Update

The excitement of having tiny fish swimming around an aquarium has all but gone, although I do still watch them now and again and their beautiful body artwork.

However, I have to report the passing of 3 of them to causes unknown. Maybe the changing of their water disturbed their tiny little bodies. I heard that temperature changes can throw them off. Perhaps I fed them too much. The third of our fish to depart this life was my personal favourite whom I had named Xavier. It was sad to see his tummy ballooning until I woke up yesterday morning to find him lying prostrate on the stony floor with no signs of life. I hope I didn't overfeed him, although none of the others have had the same problem.

Anyway, we are down to 5 now. Maybe there were too many fish for such a small aquarium. Well, so far they seem happy now, the remaining five. Hopefully I won't have to report any more deaths for quite a while!

U.S. Open Men's Singles Final

Well, I must admit that I wasn't going to bother writing a piece on the U.S. Open Men's final. I was prepared to just feel bitter, drown my sorrows with some silent treatment for half a day, and keep replaying in my mind where it went wrong.

Yes, Juan Martin Del Potro caused a major upset by overcoming Roger Federer in this morning's U.S. Open final. It went the distance to 5 sets, the Argentine coming from behind to prevail 3-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2.

It was pretty hard to take defeat, as it always is, although not quite as difficult as Federer's loss in the Aussie Open final earlier in the year while he was still chasing Sampras' record. Now he's the Grand Slam outright record holder, it's not as bad. After mouthing some negative remarks about Del Potro and Argentinians being cheats, I realised that he really did play a great game, was nerveless and handled the pressure well. Maybe Rog had other things on his mind, his daughters perhaps; maybe he's the tiniest bit more relaxed or complacent now that he's over the Grand Slam record hill; or it might just be that Del Potro took his chances and played better today.

Congratulations to him, but he'll find it tough to keep up these sort of performances and win more Grand Slams. (Look what's happened to Roddick and Djokovic).

For Federer, he must now analyse his defeat and assess what went wrong, and come back better and stronger for next year's Australian Open. The tennis world is becoming increasingly intriguing, with more young players rising through the ranks to emerge as top challengers.

Just as a footnote, 5 of the top 6 players in the world now hold Grand Slam titles. Federer has 15, Nadal 6, Roddick 1, Joker-vic 1, Del Potro 1. But who's missing from the list? Yes that's right, Andy 'cannot-win-a-major' Murray. He must be feeling pretty down after this morning's events. He is not part of the current elite group. How many more chances does he need to win one? How many more times will he be hyped up only to easily fall each time? Del Potro has made the breakthrough at the tender age of 20.

We look forward now to the end of season Masters Series in London where the top 8 ranked players will battle it out to finish as 2009 champion.

I wouldn't be surprised if Murray wins it. The others have got to let him win something, although what would it prove about him as a player or about his season? Absolutely nothing.

So long.

US Open semi-finals

Waking up this morning I knew that Del Potro had stunned Nadal by taking the first set 6-2. I remember the fist-pump I executed. Just like a traditional Nadal fist-pump, but in favour of the Argentinian. It's not often that I find myself cheering on an Argentinian, but Del Potro was the subject of my very best wishes last night.

Heading straight to Skysports this morning, I was somewhat surprised by the shocking scoreline, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 to the 20-year-old Del Potro! At the same time I was ecstatic that the Spaniard had fallen and wouldn't be in the final against Federer.

For yes, Federer has made his 6th straight final at Flushing Meadows, with a straight sets win over the professional imitator, not so good tennis player, Novak Joker-vic. The final score read 7-6, 7-5, 7-5 in Rog's favour.

Fed is looking in great form and I'm extremely confident that he will sweep aside Juan Martin Del Potro in Monday's final. After all, the Swiss has never lost a Grand Slam final to anyone other than Nadal, and I don't see that record ending here.

Del Potro will have shocked himself by coming this far, but experience, class, talent, and big-match nerves all lie with Federer. I'm expecting a close final at the start, but nevertheless a straight sets victory for the great man.

Here is Federer with a magic moment near the end of his semi-final with Novak Joker-vic...