TENNIS: For the second major in succession the final fanfare was for the common man. In Melbourne this year Sweden's Thomas Johansson, the 16th seed, won the Australian Open title and yesterday afternoon Spain's Albert Costa, seeded 20th, beat his fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.
Neither Costa nor Johansson had previously progressed beyond the quarter-finals in any of the grand slam tournaments, and both lifted the winner's trophy with more than a touch of genuine bewilderment. The improbable had become the tangible, but it was still extremely hard to believe for all concerned.
A double fault by Ferrero handed Costa yesterday's match, and summed up a quite wretched performance by the younger of the two Spaniards, although this is to take nothing away from Costa. Here was a joiner who suddenly produced an exquisite piece of furniture. For the first two sets he was almost flawless, reeling off 11 games in succession after rain had brought a premature and thankfully brief halt with the score at 1-1 in the first set. "I was feeling unbelievable," said Costa.
Costa has worked hard to bring an extra element of aggression to his game, and initially Ferrero simply could not live with him. He later complained of ankle, thigh, and stomach problems, but in truth he appeared gripped with nerves. For this was the man who defeated Andre Agassi in the quarter-finals, and demolished Russia's Marat Safin to reach the final. Time and again he lifted his eyes towards his coach Antonio Martinez as if beseeching him to somehow lift the veil of lethargy and error that descended on his game at exactly the wrong moment.
But it was not to be. Briefly, in the third set, the genuine Ferrero emerged, and there was freedom and power in his forehands and double-fisted backhands. Costa stuttered and briefly it was possible to believe he had not won a tournament for three years. But Ferrero could not sustain the recovery, eventually sagging into his chair a dejected man while Costa celebrated with his girlfriend, Cristina, and their twin daughters. They will be married on Friday.
Costa, who turns 27 this month, appeared not to have either the temperament or the weapons to win a grand slam. At the end of last year he had slipped down to number 40 in the world rankings. This morning he will at a career high number eight, the highest-ranked Spaniard. Guardian Service
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