Federer wins 18th Grand Slam.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Roger Federer has won his 18th Grand Slam title and put some extra distance on the all-time list between himself and Rafael Nadal, the man he beat 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in a vintage Australian Open final on Sunday.
It was the 35-year-old Federer’s fifth Australian title, his first at a major since Wimbledon in 2012, and it reversed the status quo against his nemesis, Nadal.
Federer had lost six of the previous eight Grand Slam finals he’d played against Nadal, and had only previously beaten the left-handed Spaniard in 11 of their 34 matches.
Both players were returning from extended layoffs for injuries – Federer the left knee; Nadal the left wrist – and were seeded 17th and ninth respectively.
Nadal remains equal second with Pete Sampras on the all-time list, with the last of his 14 majors coming at Roland Garros in 2014.
After four sets where the momentum swung alternately from one player to the next, the fifth had all the tension and drama that these two players are famous for.
Nadal went up an early break and it seemed as if the injury time-out Federer needed after the fourth set may have been an indicator of things to come.
But the Swiss star rallied, and broke back in a pivotal sixth game and took control in a period when he won 10 straight points.
Nadal saved three break points in the eighth game but lost momentum again when Federer finished off a 26-shot rally – the longest of the match – with a forehand winner down the line.
Consecutive forehand errors gave Federer the pivotal break for 5-3, but Nadal made him work for the very last point.
Serving for the match, Federer had to save two break points with an ace and a forehand winner.
At deuce, he was called for a double-fault but challenged the out call on his second serve. The call was overturned, and he got to play two.
Not long after, he fired an ace to get his second match point and hit a forehand crosscourt winner to finish off.
His celebrations were delayed, though, when Nadal challenged the call. Federer watched the replay on the tournament screen, and leaped for joy when it showed his last shot was in. His 100th match at the Australian Open ended with his fifth title at Melbourne Park.
No two players had met more often in Grand Slam finals in the Open era, and Nadal had previously dominated. But they hadn’t met in a major final since the 2011 French Open, won by Nadal.
Three months ago, they were both on breaks when Federer joined Nadal in Mallorca for the opening of the Spaniard’s tennis academy and the pair joked about ever being able to contend for majors again.
Yet here they were, first Grand Slam tournament of the season, renewing the classic rivalry that saw them dominate tennis a decade ago.
The long-odds final – No. 9 against No. 17 – unfolded after six-time champion Novak Djokovic was shockingly upset by No. 117-ranked Denis Istomin in the second round and top-ranked Andy Murray, a five-time losing finalist in Australia, went out in the fourth round to left-handed serve-volleyer Mischa Zverev.
Federer beat Zverev in the quarterfinals and U.S. Open champion Stan Wawrinka in an all-Swiss semifinal to reach the championship match. The six years between his Australian titles set a record, too, longer than the five years that both Boris Becker and Andre Agassi had between championships in Melbourne.
Alabama wins their 26th SEC Championship
For a brief moment, Florida looked like it had a chance. It didn’t last long.
The Gators scored the first offensive touchdown allowed by the Alabama defense since Oct. 22 and had a 99-yard advantage in offensive production. But at the end of the first quarter, Alabama led 16-9 thanks to two non-offensive touchdowns and a field goal set up by the game’s first interception.
From there, the Crimson Tide truly started to roll, extending its lead to 33-16 at the half en route to a 54-16 victory in the SEC Championship Game.
The Tide’s point total was the third-most in the game’s 25-year history and paved the way for Nick Saban’s fifth SEC title at Alabama.
What it means
In the SEC, it’s still Alabama and everybody else. The Gators have two consecutive SEC East championships, and a pair of wins against the SEC West, but they’re still a long ways off from reaching the Crimson Tide’s level. Alabama can lose yards for a quarter on offense and still come away with 16 points and the lead.
Nick Saban’s squad marches into the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 seed with its third consecutive SEC Championship Game win.
What I liked
Alabama: After allowing an opening-drive score, the Crimson Tide defense more than made up for it the next two drives with back-to-back interceptions. The first pick by LB Shaun Dion Hamilton set up easy points off the to the return to the Florida 10-yard line. On UF’s following possession, SS Minkah Fitzpatrick gave Alabama a 10-7 the lead with a pick six. That was Alabama’s first non-offensive touchdown since Oct. 22.
It didn’t stop there. Derrick Gore blocked Johnny Townsend’s punt and Josh Jacobs took it in for Alabama’s second non-offensive touchdown of the quarter. The Crimson Tide had officially regained the momentum up 16-7 and taken control of the game.
The one time Florida had a chance to make things interesting, the Crimson Tide defense delivered a signature goal-line stand, stopping Florida four times from inside their own 2. The offense followed with a 98-yard touchdown drive to put the nail in the coffin, making it 40-16 with 3:32 left in the third quarter.
Alabama limited the Gators to 0 yards rushing on 30 carries.
Jalen Hurts became the first true freshman quarterback to win the SEC Championship Game.
Florida: Jim McElwain and play-caller Doug Nussmeier did what they do best, and scripted an excellent opening scoring drive for the Gators. They made getting the ball to Antonio Callaway a point of emphasis, and the playmaker did his thing, making 3 catches for 46 yards, including the touchdown. They frequently tried lining up Callaway in the pistol, but were unable to get a big play out of the new look.
It came against prevent defense, but the Gators deserve some credit for executive a 92-yard scoring drive on the Alabama defense, running the two-minute drill to end the first half. Florida’s offensive line also deserves for pass protection. Appleby often had time to throw, but made multiple terrible throws.
What I didn’t like
Alabama: The kicking game was truly sloppy between the blocked extra point and missed 40-yard field goal. To find problems with the Crimson Tide’s performance is to nitpick. Leave that to coach Nick Saban.
Florida: After the defense forced a three-and-out, the Gators had a golden opportunity starting at their own 41-yard line to set the tone with a double-digit lead. Austin Appleby threw a pass off his back foot into the middle of the field that resulted in an interception being taken to the UF 12-yard line. What could have been a 10- to 14-point lead instead was trimmed to just four.
In general, the Florida defense deserved better. The Gators gifted Alabama an easy 17 points on turnovers, it was the exact opposite of what had to happen if they were going to pull off the massive upset.
Key plays
The Gators had a chance to get back in the game after a misdirection play to Lamical Perine set them up with 1st-and-Goal at the 2-yard line. They ran the ball three times, and Alabama dug in for three big stuffs. Florida went for it on fourth down, and TE C’yontai Lewis got his hands on the ball but out of bounds. The goal-line stand kept Alabama’s 17-point lead intact, and it only got larger.
What’s next
Alabama is onto the College Football Playoff, and will find out it’s assignment Sunday in the next step to repeating as national champions. Florida will likely end its season in a bowl game in the Sunshine State, and will try to avoid ending the season on a three-game losing skid in back-to-back years.
Bama dominates the Iron Bowl
Truth be told, Alabama didn’t even play that well against Auburn. The Crimson Tide were sloppy and made plenty of mistakes.
Nevertheless, the Crimson Tide still crushed the Tigers 30-12 in the annual Iron Bowl, wrapping up a perfect 12-0 regular season and an unblemished 8-0 run through the SEC. ‘Bama is going back to the conference title game.
Offensively, Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts threw a pair of interceptions. Ball security was an issue a handful of times. Coordinator Lane Kiffin slanted a little too heavily toward the pass — maybe because new full-time LSU coach Ed Orgeron was blowing up his phone — before returning to more ground-and-pound after intermission.
But considering what this iteration of coach Nick Saban’s defense can do, the offense can afford to muck it up here and there.
Alabama held Auburn to 172 total yards, with almost a third of them coming on a 55-yard pass from John Franklin III to Eli Stove. But the Tigers never got anywhere near the end zone and settled for a quartet of Daniel Carlson field goals.
Carlson was 3-of-3 on field-goal attempts in the first half, although his offense — Auburn didn’t produce a first down until the 6:19 mark of the second quarter — had very little to do with it. A 58-yard punt return from Stephen Roberts and both interceptions of Hurts gave the Tigers some short fields to score points.
Getting back to Hurts and Co. on offense, the Crimson Tide ended up throwing for 298 yards and running for 203 more.
Throug the air, ArDarius Stewart (below) was the primary target with 10 receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown. He even completed a 12-yard pass off some trickeration when Kiffin dug a little deeper into his playbook.
On the ground, ‘Bama spread the wealth liberally. Tailbacks Bo Scarbrough, Damien Harris and Joshua Jacobs combined for 169 yards on 31 attempts, with all of them averaging 5.2 yards per carry or better — each had a run of at least 20 yards, too. Hurts added 37 yards and a pretty TD, when he simply beat the Tigers to the pylon.
The irony is that Auburn played tremendous defense for large stretches of this game yet still gave up a season-high 30 points.
Make no mistake about it: The Tigers are incredibly gifted defensively. Montravius Adams is a beast in the middle. Carl Lawson is a force off the edge. Daniel Thomas picked off Hurts twice as a freshman playing in his first Iron Bowl.
However, Auburn was a three-and-out waiting to happen on offense, which eventually took a toll on its defense. Quarterbacks Franklin and Jeremy Johnson — coach Gus Malzahn went back to his rotating ways out of pure desperation — completed just 6-of-17 throws. Even a healthy Sean White would have been overmatched.
Kamryn Pettway, likely a first-team All-SEC selection at running back for 2016, was held to 17 yards on 12 carries. The Tigers, the conference’s leading rushing offense at almost 300 yards per game, had just 66 on 26 tries.
Malzahn’s game plan was so hopeless that he even tried a fullback pass from Chandler Cox on a fourth-down conversion attempt late in the game. Said pass, like the Tigers’ chances of winning, was easily intercepted.
While ‘Bama only registered one sack at Bryant-Denny Stadium, its defense managed six additional tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Jonathan Allen — the top candidate for Defensive Player of the Year in the league — had two. Butkus Award contender Reuben Foster was credited with four quarterback hits.
One quick glance at the box score, and it appears to be just another Tide-style curb stomping of an inferior opponent.
They had almost four times as many first downs. They had more than three times the rushing yardage. They had more than twice the passing yardage. They had a time-of-possession advantage of better than 2-to-1.
Alabama wins its 16th National Championship, 45-40 over Clemson.
Alabama won its 16th national championship thanks to incredible special teams play and the reemergence of stars who spent most of the 2015 season in the shadows.
The Crimson Tide knocked off Clemson 45-40 in Alabama’s closest national championship game in the Nick Saban era. Alabama can thank Bobby Williams’ special teams unit for delivering the two biggest plays of the game. Kicker Adam Griffith hit the perfect onside kick and running back Kenyan Drake had a 95-yard kickoff return for touchdown to steal the win away from Dabo Swinney’s crew. Each had up and down seasons at Alabama but delivered in a big way in the title game.
Tight end O.J. Howard, who hasn’t scored a touchdown in two years, scored two against Clemson to provide an offensive spark. Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry added three touchdowns and surpassed Shaun Alexander as Alabama’s career rushing leader.
First Quarter
Alabama struck first but Clemson landed two blows in the first quarter of the national championship game.
The Crimson Tide got on the board early in the first quarter when Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry broke loose for a 50-yard touchdown. Right tackle Dominick Jackson created a huge hole that Henry galloped through for an easy touchdown.
Clemson quickly responded when Deshaun Watson threw a beautiful 31-yard touchdown pass to walk-on receiver Hunter Renfrow. Two Alabama defenders had good coverage on Renfrow but Watson put the ball in the perfect spot.
On the last play of the quarter, Watson found Renfrow again for an 11-yard touchdown.
Key play: Derrick Henry capitalizing on a huge hole for a 50-yard touchdown.
Key player: Derrick Henry gets the nod after rushing for 86 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter.
Second quarter
With Alabama badly needing a defensive stop, Eddie Jackson reached up and grabbed an interception.
The Alabama safety capitalized on a poor Deshaun Watson throw to give Alabama good field position and stop Clemson’s offensive momentum. Alabama cashed in on the turnover a few plays later on a Derrick Henry 1-yard touchdown run behind a jumbo package of A’Shawn Robinson and Jarran Reed.
Watson wasn’t as effective against Alabama as he was in the first quarter. The Clemson quarterback took a few big hits and couldn’t keep the offense in rhythm. The Tigers had a chance to break the 14-14 tie late in the quarter but Greg Huegel missed a 44-yard field goal attempt.
Key play: Eddie Jackson’s interception to stop Clemson’s offensive momentum.
Key player: Derrick Henry added his second touchdown of the night.
Third quarter
O.J. Howard reminded everyone of its talents in the third quarter.
The Alabama junior tight end was wide open for a 57-yard touchdown — his first touchdown in two years– to give Alabama an early lead in the third quarter. Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin started celebrating the minute Howard broke past his defender.
Clemson had an answer, though.
The Tigers cut the lead to 21-17 on a 37-yard field goal. Clemson then took the lead with 4:48 left in the quarter on a Wayne Gallman 1-yard touchdown. The drive was set up with quarterback Deshaun Watson’s scrambling ability as the Clemson star gashed Alabama with runs of 20, 16 and 5 yards.
Key play: O.J. Howard’s 57-yard touchdown catch to give Alabama the lead.
Key player: Jake Coker delivering a right on the money pass to take the lead.
Fourth quarter
It was as gutsy a call as Nick Saban’s ever made and it worked out perfectly.
Adam Griffith kicked a perfect “pop” onside kick and cornerback Marlon Humphrey recovered the ball around the 50-yard line. The decision turned the game upside down and Alabama capitalized two plays later on another Jake Coker to O.J. Howard touchdown pass.
Later, Alabama’s special teams came up big again when Kenyan Drake took the kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. It was the biggest play of Drake’s career at Alabama and couldn’t have come at a better moment.
Alabama delivered big blow after big blow but Clemson didn’t back down. The Tigers scored two more touchdowns to keep the game within striking distance but couldn’t capitalize on a two-point conversion attempt and were never able to regain the lead after that onside kick.
Alabama finished Clemson off with a combination of Howard and Henry. Coker connected with the junior tight end for a 63-yard gain and let Henry finish things off with a 1-yard touchdown.
Key play: Adam Griffith’s perfect onside kick that stole the momentum and set up the win.
Key player: O.J. Howard scoring his second long touchdown of the game to give Alabama the lead.
BAMA Dominates Mich. State 38-0
The dry erase board in the Alabama locker room had four times listed on the dry erase board. Three were for warmups. The fourth had kickoff for the Crimson Tide against Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl and College Football Playoff semifinal.
“7:20 – Kick msu ASS”
(sic)
So they did, en route to a 38-0 win over the Spartans to advance to the College Football Playoff championship game against No. 1 Clemson.
The offense scored four touchdowns, Adam Griffith nailed a 47-yard field goal and Cyrus Jones took another punt into the end zone.
“I’m really, really proud of our team,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “I think last year when we came to this game, we were happy just to take part in the game. I think this year we wanted to sort of take the game. And really thought our guys had a vision of what they wanted and everybody paid the price for what they had to do in preparation. And there was no circumstance in that game out there today that changed anybody’s feeling about how they wanted to compete and how they wanted to play.”
Jones didn’t say much to the media during availability the week leading up to the 2015 Cotton Bowl. Instead, he let his play say everything for him.
In the third quarter, Jones took a punt back 57 yards for a score after putting a move on a Michigan State defender.
“It was something I grew up doing,” Jones said. “My favorite player growing up was Tavon Austin, a guy I grew up watching in Baltimore, just really explosive with the ball. He had moves similar. And I kind of patented my game after him growing up. And that was moves I get from him. So you can credit him with those.”
Jones’ 57-yard punt return for a touchdown was the fifth-longest punt return for a touchdown in Cotton Bowl history. He owns the program record for most punt returns for a touchdown in a season with four.
On defense, he intercepted what would’ve been a touchdown late in the second quarter as the defense shut out the Spartans.
For his efforts, he was named the defensive MVP of the game.
The game started as everything it was hyped to be: a defensive slugfest. The first quarter was scoreless as neither team could get much going.
Then, Jake Coker found his stride, Calvin Ridley continued to make big plays and Derrick Henry finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. A 47-yard field goal later put Alabama up 10-0 before the half.
In the second half, Alabama started with the ball and put up 21 in the third quarter. Ridley had two touchdowns, sandwiching Jones’ punt return score. The freshman wide receiver broke Amari Cooper’s single-season record for receiving yards with 1,031. He had 138 yards on eight receptions.
Henry put the game completely out of reach with his 25th rushing touchdown of the season, an 11-yard run in the fourth quarter. The Heisman Trophy winner eclipsed 2,000 yards rushing for the season (2,061) and broke the SEC record for rushing touchdowns.
“Make no mistake, this is still a defensive team,” Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin said. “This is a defensive mentality team. Fortunately, we made some plays to make the score like this, but at the end of the day, we shut out a pretty good team.”
The Crimson Tide held Michigan State to 239 total yards, including 29 yards rushing. The defense sacked Spartans quarterback Connor Cook four times bringing the season total to 50.
The Spartans had one trip into the red zone which was capped by an interception, one of two the defense nabbed.
Alabama (13-1) will face No. 1 Clemson (14-0) in the CFP Final on Jan. 11 in Arizona.
Bama dominates Florida to win their 25th SEC Championship
We were pretty sure we knew all we needed to know about the pecking order in the SEC before Saturday night’s championship game between Alabama and Florida. Now we know with absolute certainty.
There is Alabama, and then there is everyone else.
The Crimson Tide won 29-15, but it really wasn’t that close. A late Florida touchdown got them eight irrelevant points – although the gamblers who had Alabama minus-17 points would argue the TD was damn relevant. Alabama’s defense was suffocating, Derrick Henry secured his Heisman Trophy – if he hadn’t already – with 189 yards and a touchdown and once again we were left to know with certainty that the best coach in college football strolls the Alabama sideline.
There is Nick Saban, and then there is everyone else.
We’ve known about Saban’s greatness for years, so there is no need to gush for too long about the 64-year-old guru. Not only does he have the best players, but they’ll also outwork you, too. So will his coaches.
There was nothing that Florida tried to do Saturday that Alabama didn’t have an answer for. Coming in, we knew Florida’s only hope was to get some points on special teams and hope the Gators defense – which is very good, by the way – could hold on long enough to keep them in it.
It worked that way for a while. Antonio Callaway returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter, giving Florida a 7-2. It wasn’t until just before halftime that Alabama finally pushed ahead. It took a while to get the lead, but when they did, they weren’t giving it up.
Henry did just enough. He ground out 189 yards, passing Herschel Walker for the biggest season ever by an SEC running back with 1,986 yards. And you have to give offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin some props too. He called a good game and put QB Jake Coker in enough comfortable positions to have a clean, efficient night. He was 18-for-26 passing for 204 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Even the 29 was a deceivingly low point total, considering they let the clock run out at the end of the game with the ball on the Florida 3-yard line. Overall, it was a good-enough night for the Alabama offense.
And, of course, there is this, as it always is with Alabama under Saban.
There is the Alabama defense, and then there is everyone else.
Kirby Smart gave the Tide faithful a nice going-away present on his way to Athens. Florida’s offense didn’t score a single point until the outcome was no longer in doubt, scoring on a 46-yard pass with five minutes to go and Bama up 29-7 at the time. Florida only had 180 yards all night and rushed for only 15 yards on 21 attempts. Even more impressively, 92 of the 180 total yards came on two pass plays (46 each). On their other 43 plays, Florida gained just 88 yards, a meager 2.04 yards per play.
Florida’s offensive struggles also are a microcosm for all that ails the SEC this year. Quarterback play for Florida was atrocious, but they’re certainly not alone in the SEC. It’s just a really down here for quarterback play in the SEC. Chad Kelly (Ole Miss), Dak Prescott (Mississippi State) and Brandon Allen (Arkansas) are the only ones who can say they had good years. Joshua Dobbs (Tennessee) was close, but he will be so much better in the future.
The rest, forget it. Florida was a mess after Will Grier’s suspension. Brandon Harris couldn’t get it done at LSU even with eight and nine men in the box trying to stop Leonard Fournette. Auburn, Texas A&M, Missouri, Kentucky, South Carolina and Vanderbilt all juggled QBs, and all with disastrous results.
And it’s not to say that Jake Coker was anything exceptional, but he was certainly good enough for Alabama. He’s made plays when he’s needed to, both with him arm and his legs. If he’s Alabama’s weak link, well, then they’re not very weak.
The rest can’t be said for the SEC. When all the polls come out later today, Alabama will be the only SEC team in the top 10. And for as much as we all like to brag about the greatness of the SEC, it’s probably about right. No one else deserves to be ranked among the nation’s elite. And no one else besides Alabama deserves even a second of conversation about being a potential playoff team.
Not this year, because there’s only one.
Rammer Jammer, Bama rolls over Georgia between the hedges, 38-10.
Sanford Stadium was only about half full shortly into the fourth quarter.
A capacity crowd of 92,746 that had been loud in support of Georgia progressively quieted down and cleared out as Alabama’s lead continued to mount.
Minutes after the game ended and the Tide’s 38-10 win was final, the only noise from the stands came from several rows of Alabama supporters behind the Tide’s sideline.
The fans chanted “Roll Tide.” Stationed nearby, Alabama’s band later led cheers of “Roll Tide Roll.”
Tide coach Nick Saban told his players all week that Alabama was being doubted and counted out on a national level.
There will be less of that after Saturday night. This was more than a win for No. 13 Alabama. It was a statement, a thorough domination of the No. 8 team in the country in what is widely considered one of the toughest road environments in college football.
“I think it shows a lot,” senior cornerback Cyrus Jones said. “We don’t come out to just win games. We try to come out and dominate them in every phase of the game — special teams, offense and defense — and I think you saw that here today.”
After falling to Ole Miss Sept. 19, a loss Saturday would have made the Tide an extreme long shot to reach the College Football Playoff.
Instead, Alabama improves to 4-1, will likely be ranked in the top-10 when the new polls are released Sunday, and looked the part of a legitimate national championship contender Saturday night.
Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer in Wimbledon 2015 men’s singles final
Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer for the second straight year in a Wimbledon final, winning the tournament for the third time with a 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (10-12), 6-4, 6-3 victory and rewarding himself by taking a bite out of Centre Court.
Djokovic, ranked No. 1 in the world, has now won nine Grand Slam tournaments and kept No. 2 Federer from becoming the oldest man to win Wimbledon at age 33. He regained his composure and rallied after Federer won an epic second-set tiebreak that left Djokovic yelling angrily from the bench.
“It’s a dream come true again. Even though I’ve won it for a third time, every time it feels like (the) first,” Djokovic said afterward. “Today, I knew that Roger was going to come out being very aggressive. I knew he was going to play as he always plays in finals and majors — at the highest possible level. If I wanted to have a chance to win, I needed to stay mentally tough.
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