DAILY SCOREBOARD: 2011 Australian Open

Almost everyone has been waiting for this day, the start of the Australian Open. Now all eyes of the tennis world is on Melbourne, Australia as it hosts the 99^th Australian Open. But a day before the start of the Australian Open, the tennis players held the Rally for Relief to raise money for those affected by the flood that overwhelmed the state of Queensland. It was just like last year’s Hit for Haiti where the world’s best tennis players played, joked, and entertained fans with their oke at each other while raising money. After the 90-minute exhibition, they were able to raise $750,000 from the fans, the players, Tennis Australia, the ATP, WTA and the ITF. There were also pledges from players an amount for every ace they serve; Sam Stosur who hails from Queensland pledged $500 for every ace she serves during the Australian summer swing. Aside from the entertainment that these tennis players showed their fans, you can also see the assortment of sports wear worn by these players. Since Serena Williams is down because of injury, nobody else stood out in an atrocious costume. These seeded players were simple in their tennis or polo shirts (with the iconic swoosh, of course) and shorts.

Swiss superstar Federer is defending not only the championship but also the world’s number 1 position. And though he leads over Nadal 16 to nine in the Grand Slam, should Nadal win the Open he will hold all four major trophies and will open the age-old debate of who the greatest ever player is. The top-seeded Rafa has yet to play but a lot of fans and well-wishers are hoping Nadal makes history with a Rafa Slam and become the first man in history to achieve a non-calendar year grand slam sweep since Rod Laver 42 years ago.

Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki were given the top seeds for the 2011 Australian Open. Wozniacki has just won her first round against Gisela Dulko of Argentina while Maria Sharapova defeated Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand for the Women’s Singles. While Andy Roddick is on the court right now against the Czech J. Hajek, Federer defeated Lukas Lacko of Slovakia earlier in a game that lasted only 90 minutes.