MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal doesn’t usually laugh during a Grand Slam semifinal. The no. 2 player in the world is as serious and intense a player as this game has ever know, a man who wants nothing more than to win the next point — and the next one and the next one. Yet on Thursday evening in Melbourne, Nadal was repeatedly reduced to shrugs and disbelieving smiles as drop volleys fell for winners and forehands and aces flew by him. He had no solution for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 22-year-old from France who has set the tennis world abuzz with his fabulous play at the Australian Open.

Tsonga dominated the match from start to finish. He hit a half dozen drop volleys that Nadal, the best mover in the world, couldn’t retrieve. He anticipated Nadal’s passing shots at every turn, winning 30 of 40 points at the net against the game’s premiere practitioner of the passing shot. He fired 17 aces and hit 49 winners in a 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 victory and did so casually and coolly, as if he were playing an exhibition at a local park. It was an astonishing debut performance in a Grand Slam semifinal.

Tsonga, whose career has been slowed by back and abdominal injuries, plays a wonderful attacking game that we don’t see enough of these days. He’s also friendly and charming and crowds adore him — when he raises his arms and dances inside Rod Laver Arena, people lose their minds. He is the sort of star that this sport needs, someone who plays tennis as exciting and varied as Roger Federer’s — sometimes more exciting. There’s nothing negative to say about Tsonga. Still, my reaction to the mania that has struck Melbourne is, “Hold on!” Don’t forget that we’ve been here before. Just last year, Fernando Gonzalez slugged his way into the Australian Open final, demolishing players like James Blake, Lleyton Hewitt, and, you’ll recall, Nadal (6–2, 6–4, 6–3). Federer won the final in straight sets. The year before, Marcos Baghdatis, who was the world’s best junior, one place above Tsonga, became the darling of this city. Federer beat him, too, and Baghdatis has been searching for that form ever since.

Tsonga plays a different game than these two men — I’d say it’s better and also better suited to Federer’s conservative service returns and Novak Djokovic’s oftentimes loopy forehand. Tsonga is also devoid of bad memories against either potential opponent in the final (he hasn’t played either of them). Compare that to Gonzalez, who entered last year’s final with a 0–9 record against Federer. All that said, playing anywhere this well in the final is a tall order. Just ask Nadal.

“I think he’s gonna feel the pressure in first Grand Slam final,” Nadal said. “It’s very different.”

Fans and journalists in Melbourne want to believe otherwise. The dominant theme at this tournament — on television, in the local newspapers, and in conversations in the food courts and gardens inside the grounds — has been Federer’s vulnerability, which allegedly exists. When the tournament began, Djokovic was picked as a potential usurper in the semifinal and he hasn’t done anything to lower expectations (he didn’t lose a set in his first five matches). Then along comes Tsonga, a youngster who has perhaps more talent than Djokovic but less experience. Federer, meanwhile, played a rare five-set match in the third round and sloppy service games in several other matches. It seems reasonable, then, to expect that tennis is in for some big changes (perhaps those changes have come already; Djokovic and Federer likely will have completed their match by the time you read this column).

I’m inclined to think that this next generation of players has a little ways to go, even if Federer doesn’t win this tournament (and I think he will). Tsonga’s inspired play on Thursday evening awed everyone who saw it, but remember that Federer has played that way for years. He is so consistently exceptional (other than when he plays Nadal on clay) that until recently he has dulled our senses. Djokovic awakened them last summer in the lead up to the U.S. Open. Tsonga, with his dynamic play this tournament, has given them a dose of amphetamines. Tennis is now alive with the possibility of change and dynamism and challenges as Federer moves into the twilight years for a player (he’ll be 27 in August).

This is good news for the game, but don’t be surprised if the changes that seem imminent at the moment take longer to occur. It’s early in the season and early in the careers of these two young stars. The best we can hope for is that they stay healthy and push Federer’s tennis, and the sport, to new heights for years to come, not just in Melbourne.

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The best we can hope for in women’s tennis, sadly, is a decent match in the final — just one decent match, that’s all I ask.

I had high hopes for the women’s tournament this year, but those hopes have been dashed. Maria Sharapova has played near flawless tennis and for the first time, I’ve enjoyed watching her do it. She’s moving much better, making smarter decisions, and showing no signs of the shoulder injury that derailed her 2007 season.

Most everyone else has disappointed. Serena and Venus Williams both played flat matches in the quarterfinals. Jelena Jankovic scored an impressive win over Serena, but she was too injured to compete against Sharapova. Ana Ivanovic played abysmal tennis in the semifinal but luckily had an opponent, Daniela Hantuchova, who was willing to give the match away.

Can Ivanovic conquer her nerves and give Sharapova a fight in the final? Unfortunately, I doubt it. This is Sharapova’s tournament to win. Those very words, in fact, might be uttered a lot in the years to come.

Mr. Perrotta is a senior editor at Tennis Magazine. He can be reached at tperrotta@tennismagazine.com.