Roger Federer wins sixth Australian Open title, and 20th major grand slam in Melbourne

The 2018 Australian Open ended earlier today with Roger Federer winning his 20th major grand slam title in Melbourne, against Marin Cilic in an epic five set thriller. Federer won his sixth title in seven finals, and he had not lost a set coming into the final. Roger won the first set (6-2), the third set (6-3), and the fifth set (6-1). He lost the 2nd set in a tiebreaker, and the 4th set (6-3). Roger was up 3-1 in the 4th set, and Cilic won the next five games to extend the match. Roger should have won the 4th set, but his serve was broken twice during that five game stretch. In the deciding set, Roger found another gear to close it out in seven quick games. This match was the second time that Marin Cilic and Roger Federer had played in a grand slam final, in consecutive years. Federer had beaten Cilic in three sets at the 2017 Wimbledon final. Cilic hung around with Roger in the fourth set, and Marin will move up to #3 in the world in the new ATP rankings on January 29. Roger will move within 200 points of Rafael Nadal, as his 20th major victory helped him to gain traction on Nadal's #1 ranking. Roger's serve was much better than his stats were, in his semifinal victory over Chung. Roger won that match in two shortened sets, as Chung retired in the 2nd set before it was over. Roger won the first set by 6-1, and was up 5-2 in the 2nd set before the match ended due to Chung's foot blisters. Lastly, Cilic's path to the final included a five set win over Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. Nadal retired in the fifth set, as he was down 2-0 before leaving the match with an right leg injury. Cilic beat Kyle Edmund in the semifinals in three sets, and Marin reached his third grand slam final in Melbourne. The Croatian has shown incredible consistency over the past 2 years in the grand slam finals. Both Federer and Cilic had the pleasure of playing, with some celebrities watching them in the final match. Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky were sitting courtside at the Australian Open final. The beautiful married couple are well known for their acting prowess. As this post ends, Roger Federer has won three of the past five Grand Slam tournaments. Hope he plays the French Open this year, as it would be good to see him in all four grand slam tournaments. Enjoy the picture above of Roger Federer and his new Australian Open trophy. His sixth trophy was another spectacular match, between two splendid players. Long live the Federer Express!

Why Taiwan is not considered an independent country by all nations?

Today's story is about the island nation of Taiwan, and the various reasons why China calls it as a state or territory. The capital of Taiwan is Taipei, and the Taipei 101 tower has served as an architectural icon for the country since 2005. Taiwan was my home for three years, from 1981-1984. Taiwan is called as Chinese Taipei, and the United Nations does not recognize Taiwan as a country. Taiwan's unemployment rate was 3.8% in 2017, and Electrical and Computer machinery are its top two exports. Taiwan has been independent of China since 1950, but do not mention this fact to most Chinese government officials. The Chinese government wants to keep Taiwan as a region, or state of China forever. Taiwan used to be called Formosa, and it is under the rule of Republic of China (ROC) in the Chinese constitution. Since 2013, over 67% of the Taiwanese population feel that the country should not unite with China. Almost 79% of the island population feel that they are Taiwanese, not Chinese. The official currency of Taiwan is the New Taiwan Dollar, and $1 is 30 Taiwan New Dollar (or NT). Could Taiwan go its own way or road, instead of being under Chinese unified rule? The country should pass an anti-secession law, but it could be many decades until this public opinion becomes a reality. Currently, the majority of the general public wants to maintain the status quo which is to be considered a region or state of China. More than 20 countries in different continents (North America, Asia, Africa, etc.) maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The political and legal status of Taiwan is called the 'Taiwan issue, or Taiwan problem.' In addition, the main language in Taiwan is mandarin Chinese. It is hilarious when people consider Taiwanese as a language. Heck, a few Chinese people have told me that Taiwanese is indeed a recognized language. This story's closing points is Taiwan should become an independent country, and hopefully this plan becomes a reality before 2050. The island nation of Taiwan may not be a very safe place, but the country has improved its economic status through major exports and a higher GDP in 2017. Taiwan is considered as one of the four Asian Tigers, and it is one of the largest supplier of computer chips in the world. Maybe, the flag of Taiwan will change its colors and symbols one day to be separated from China. The current flag of Taiwan shines brightly above.