Super Bowl Update

Rafael Nadal has steam-rolled his way into the 3rd round of the Aussie Open after trouncing American Ryan Sweeting 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 in just 1 hour and 42 minutes. He won so fast, I didn't even get to see any of his match late last night on TV. So sad! I never like missing a Rafa match. The highlights reel will have to suffice.

Rafa had an amazing match in terms of service games and winners. Sweeting really had no chance. Apparently, Rafa lost his serve in the third set, but immediately broke back. Sometimes when you're dominating so handily, it's hard to keep focus. He faced a similar situation in the first round, but these lapses against players that are offering no competition are not a real cause for concern.

The next round should provide an interesting opponent in Bernard Tomic, the 18-year-old Australian wildcard who has been playing well through the first two rounds. He has not had to face a competitor like Rafa yet, so it's difficult to judge how well the kid will hold up, although he'll probably go for broke since he's got nothing to lose. He's the last Australian man left in the field, so he should have some strong crowd support behind him. The crowd didn't really seem that enthused by his style of play in the second round though, so who knows? Maybe the crowd really wants to see Rafa compete for the RafaSLAM and will be rooting for him to get through. I know I will be! Vamos!