What will stay with us from the 2011 Australian Open tennis tournament…

o    Rally for Relief… on the eve of the Australian Open, the tennis world came together (again) in support of charity to raise funds for the flood relief in Australia
o    Maria Sharapova opening the tournament on Rod Laver Arena with two consecutive double faults and losing early (again) in the tournament
o    The epic five set Lleyton Hewitt and David Nalbandian first round encounter
o    Juan Martin del Potro and his BIG game back in action… looking forward to much more from the tall, lanky Argentine later this season…
o    Eighteen year old Australian hope, Bernard Tomic’s performance against Rafael Nadal
o    The continued global diversity of the tennis Tour from the sparkling play of Ukranian, Alexandr Dolgopolov, to Chinese female finalist, Na Li
o    Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova’s record-setting long match
o    Na Li’s powerful ground strokes and light-hearted humor about her husband, etc. in on-court post-match interviews, i.e. his snoring ruined her sleep before her semi and in the trophy ceremony after the final, i.e. “Because I was making a lot of joke for him. I say doesn't matter you are fat or skinny, handsome or ugly, I always follow him, always love him.”
o    Kim Clijsters’s solid play and bright lime green outfit en route to her first Australian Open title
o    Novak Djokovic taking off his sneakers (and shirt and wrist bands) after winning the men’s title and throwing them (minus his custom shoe inserts!) and his (winning) racket into the crowd