Nothing we haven't seen before. (Photo: WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)

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Sorry for the delay, folks.  Weather has not been kind to my internet access here in Washington...

Here's what we learned at the Australian Open about the top eight in the ATP (using their new post-Aussie rankings), as well as a few other notables.

#1 Roger Federer (Champion - Stays at #1) -- There were some hiccups against Russians along the way, but in the end it was yet another routine, straight sets victory in a slam final for Roger Federer, winning his sweet sixteenth.  He didn't look unbeatable, but he didn't get beaten.  The killer instinct that was questionable in New York against del Potro was definitely there against Murray, almost certainly because he just doesn't seem to like the Scot at all.  If he can muster that same disdain in the rest of his slam finals, no reason he can't reach 20.  Here's a stat that I don't think anyone else has come up with yet: With this Australian Open title, his first since Melbourne Park switched over to the blue stuff in 2008, Federer becomes the first player to win slams on five different surfaces (grass, clay, Rebound Ace, DecoTurf, Plexicushion).

#2 Novak Djokovic (lost in quarterfinals to Tsonga - Was #3) -- Congrats to Djokovic on making it to a career high ranking of #2, but man, did he ever fail to get any style points in the process.  After running through one of the softest slam draws in recent memory (Gimeno-Traver, Chiudinelli, Istomin, Kubot), Djokovic flamed out against the first tough opponent he faced, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  He outplayed Tsonga for the first three sets, but then physically broke down with a mess of nausea and exhaustion, losing the fourth and fifth sets in short order.    While draws at major tournaments will feature a "Djokovic half" for the first time, he's hardly a lock for the finals with these questions still lingering about his conditioning when the going gets tough.

#3 Andy Murray (lost in final to Federer - Was #4) -- Definitely a strong run for Murray, but like Djokovic his bump in the rankings comes with more questions attached than answers.  And while the British media does deserve just about all the flak they're getting for wondering aloud if Murray will ever win a slam, they do have a point.  He may be "only" 22, but the last player to win a first career slam at an older age was Gaston Gaudio back in 2004.  Djokovic, Nadal, and del Potro (and Federer and Roddick just before Gaudio) were all younger when they struck paydirt for the first time.

#4 Rafael Nadal (lost to Murray in quarterfinal - Was #2) -- Nadal's lowest ranking since 2005 is all about not being able to complete his title defense due to injury on the surface, but in reality he was never going to be competitive against Murray in his quarterfinal loss.  Nadal lost bulky muscle up top in an announced attempt to keep his lower body healthier, but he's now less powerful and still perpetually injury prone.  I think it's about time to stick a fork in this career, sadly.  Many say he still has a shot on the clay, but from where I sit I can't imagine that long, grinding matches are the cure for what ails him.

#5 Juan Martin del Potro (lost to Cilic in fourth round - Stays at #5) -- del Potro didn't do much with having a quarter to his name for the first time at a grand slam, but he never really looked 100% with his arm, either.  There was a real nice gut-check win in the second round vs. James Blake for him, but also a real bizarre bageling at the hands of Florian Mayer before he finally went down in a battle of attrition against Cilic in the fourth round.  Cilic was impossible to get any rhythm against the entire tournament, so it is a pretty excusable, explicable loss as far as I'm concerned.

#6 Nikolay Davydenko (lost to Federer in quarterfinal - Stays at #6) -- Hard to really grade Davydenko's run at this tournament.  He largely failed to live up to the darkhorse label that had been bestowed upon him by the fawning Mary Carillo, but he did show that he has the potential to beat the best in the world when at his best.  He looked absolutely untouchable for his first three matches, losing a combined seventeen games in those three straight sets wins.  But then he absolutely stunk up the joint halfway through his fourth round match against Fernando Verdasco, and then stunk up the joint again halfway through his quarterfinal vs. Federer, playing so listlessly as to not win a single game for an hour.  I think the French Open still represents his best shot to make a grand slam final, as it always has, but it's clear that he's going to need to learn not to peak too early if that's going to happen.

#7 Andy Roddick (lost to Cilic in quarterfinal - Stays at #7) -- He comes away having not defended his semifinal points from a year ago, but it was a real impressive run for Roddick.  That five-set win against Gonzalez is exactly the type of match he would have routinely lost from 2004-2008.  His comeback effort against Cilic was also pretty valiant, but in the end the result is probably a sign that he doesn't have what it takes to beat these big, young guns on a consistent basis.

#8 Robin Soderling (lost to Granollers in the first round - Stays at #8) -- A bizarre early exit for Soderling, who looked to be cruising against the weaponless Granollers early on then totally fell apart as the match wore on, losing his two-set lead on the way to a first round exit.  The surface in Melbourne is probably too slow for him to have made much noise.  I'm more interested to see what he'll do in Dubai, Miami, and Wimbledon.  I still don't understand how his best ever run at a major was on clay, and I refuse to believe it could happen again.