Random musings from the star-splashed Aussie Open

	Roger Federer and Bjorn Borg ('80 French Open) are the last two men to win a Grand Slam event without dropping one set. WireImage.com

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Here are 50 Thoughts from the 2007 Australian Open, trying to incorporate as many of your questions as possible.

1. Roger Federer -- no surprise -- did virtually everything right winning the men's title without surrendering a set. But what impressed me most was his defense. Time and again, he kept points alive with unbelievable scrambles and shots that neutralized power. Two balls later, he was suddenly controlling the point. Yes, it's early, but this sure bodes well for clay.

2. Just as we all prophesized, Serena Williams won the women's title, beating top seed Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 in a final that somehow managed to be more lopsided than the score indicated. It was so predictable that Serena would resurrect her career (and beat five seeds) -- that only a fool would have dismissed her chances coming in.

3. Quite a tournament for Fernando Gonzalez, who's Gonzo no more, having harnessed his forehand and dialed back his go-for-broke style. What a performance beating Lleyton Hewitt, James Blake, Rafael Nadal and Tommy Haas and then giving Federer a respectable fight in the final. And if you can YouTube his runner-up speech, do so.

4. When Sharapova lost that heartbreaker to Serena here in 2005, she went on to win her next event. Be interesting to see how long Saturday's "statement match" sticks with her.

5. So I guess we know how much stock to put in that Kooyong final. (Andy Roddick, of course, beat Federer.) On the other hand, it's worth pointing out that all four semifinalists played the Kooyong; so at least it's a worthwhile tune-up.

6. The men's semifinal matches -- Federer/Roddick and Gonzalez/Haas -- were two of the most lopsided matches you'll ever see. And yet because the winner was deeply embedded in "the zone," both matches were thoroughly entertaining. Gonzalez winner-to-error ratio against Haas? 42 to 3.

7. The Bryan Brothers, Mike and Bob, took the men's doubles title beating Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi in the final. Because the preceding women's singles final was over so quickly, the house was packed.

8. Cara Black and new partner Liezel Huber won the doubles title. The real story of the draw, though, was the losing finalists Yung-Jan Chan and Chia-Jung Chuang -- total unknown wild cards from Chinese Tapei, whose victories included a rout of Zi Yan and Jie Zheng, the second seeds. Still more convincing evidence of the Asian tennis boom.

9. This is what's known in the business as a money quote. Asked about her fitness level following her title, a giddy Serena Williams responded: "I'm definitely in better shape than I get credit for. Just because I have large bosoms and I have a big ass. I swear my waist is 29-30 inches. I swear I have the smallest waist. And just because I have those two 'assets' it looks like I'm not fit. I was just in the locker room staring at my body and I'm like, 'Am I not fit? Am I really not fit? Or is it just because I have all these extra assets that I look not fit.' I think if I were not to eat for two years I still wouldn't be a size 2. No matter how slim I am, I always have this [points] and that [points]. We're living in a Mary-Kate Olsen world. I'm just not built that way. I'm bootylicious and that's how it's always going to be."

10. In the girls' draw, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia needed a pair of tiebreakers but beat American Madison Brengle in the finals. And amid all the doomsaying about the future of Australian Tennis, an unseeded local, Brydan Klein beat Jonathan Eysseric of France to win the boys event. (Plus, keep an eye on young Aussie Bernard Tomic.)