2009 Australian Open – Men's singles final Open victory, Federer had not beaten Nadal in a Grand Slam since the 2007 Wimbledon final and many analysts pointed to the 2009 Australian Open final as the match which severely compromised Federer's belief that he could win against Nadal in a major. Mats Wilander proposed that Federer had developed a mental block while playing against Nadal and that their rivalry had become one-sided and predictable after this match. Tennis Channel commentator Justin Gimelstob referred to Federer's loss as a type of 'collateral damage' in which Federer not only lost a tennis match but also lost his last remaining stronghold
2009 LA Tennis Open Open Series. In addition to the singles and doubles events, a Legends Invitational Singles competition was held, featuring Michael Chang, Stefan Edberg and Jim Courier, winner of the competition at the 2008 Countrywide Classic. The LA Tennis Open kicked off with the "Millennium Challenge" featuring Pete Sampras returning to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to play Marat Safin in a rematch of their 2000 US Open final, won by the Russian 6–4, 6–3, 6–3. Fourteen-time Grand Slam champion Sampras, who held the World No. 1 ranking for a record 286 weeks, was recognized as the 2009 LA Tennis