Blow!
Two weeks into the season, tennis kicks off one of its mega-events, the Australian Open.
Roger Federer nicknamed it the “Happy Slam”. Somehow, most tennis players manage to restore and rejuvenate themselves during their blink-of-an-eye off-season and show up in Melbourne filled with hopes and dreams for the new campaign.
Advertising
For a few more days, the slate is clean. Soon, however, the tension returns and rises, along with local temperatures, which can become brutal when the wind blows from the arid plains of Australia instead of the nearby seas.
The game’s story continues where the Grand Slam narratives left off, with special attention to the last tournament played, the US Open.
The Grand Slams are the place where the main themes of the game play out and where tennis is different. Different crowds. Another exam. Different opportunities. Different risks. And incredibly, other issues.
For the men, it’s best-of-five instead of best-of-three and no one knows that better than Novak Djokovic, the 10-time champion in Australia, for whom a two-set deficit in a Slam seems to mean so little. Whether Djokovic, the world No 1, winner of three Slams last year and a finalist in the other, can continue that dominance is just one of the big narratives that will unfold in the tennis pavilion next to the Yarra River.
Any Australian Open breakthrough will have to start with Djokovic, who won his 24th Grand Slam at the U. S. Open in New York, which is also played on hard courts.
Djokovic suffered a sore wrist at the United Cup, the festival of the team he played before coming to Melbourne, and lost 6-4, 6-4 to Australia’s Alex de Minaur, a player he destroyed in the “A. O. last year, when the locals are asking for it. He has won 28 consecutive matches at this event, 10 Australian Open men’s singles titles, and the last 4 he has competed in (he was deported in 2022 for his stance against Covid-19 vaccination).
Djokovic is used to dealing with injuries here. He won last year with a hamstring strain and in 2021 with a small torn abdominal muscle. There is some drama surrounding the Serb, whether it’s a trivial injury or an off-field controversy (vaccines, Balkan politics, etc. ). Last year, his father posed with a fan holding a Russian flag, who was banned from entering the field. floor. Given his performance, there is nothing to suggest that he would not thrive in those conditions.
Everywhere you look in the draw, especially on the women’s side, it seems like there’s a boldface name coming back from something.
Advertising
The biggest caller in this crowd is Naomi Osaka, who is playing for her first Grand Slam since the 2022 U. S. Open. He had his first child in July, a daughter named Shai, and said he needs to play professionally for a long time, long enough. for your daughter to see what she’s been like in her life.
“Time is precious,” he said Friday.
If Osaka tries, she will become a player no one needs to play with. She has a tantalizing first-round clash with Caroline Garcia, who struggled last year but presents a big challenge in terms of form.
Germany’s Angelique Kerber, who also gave birth to her first child, is also returning for her first Grand Slam as a mother. Caroline Wozniacki came out of retirement to play the US Open last summer and continues her return to that of her only Grand Slam victory. Amanda Anisimova is returning from a long break due to intellectual health issues.
In the men’s category, Rafael Nadal intended to return to a Grand Slam here, but suffered a muscle tear. Denis Shapovalov is back after missing the second half of last year with a knee injury. Gaël Monfils, who played his first Grand Slam in history at The US Open, is also back in Australia.
Locals were desperately hoping Nick Kyrgios would come back here too, but he’s still recovering from wrist surgery and will be holding the microphone of a tennis racket for a few more months.
The generation that aimed to surpass Djokovic and Nadal (Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev) has largely failed. Can the next team do better?
Carlos Alcaraz beat him in the Wimbledon final. Jannik Sinner had a poor form and eliminated him in the Davis Cup. Holger Rune has some wins in front of him.
Advertising
And yet, looking ahead to the new year, Djokovic, the No. 1, he returns and remains the king of the mountain, waiting to see if someone can knock him out. He has beaten Alcaraz in any of his matches since Wimbledon and beat Sinner in the ATP Tour Final just before their Davis Cup match.
Djokovic, who is 36, has repeatedly said he will step aside when he starts not challenging for the biggest events. For that to happen, youth is going to have to stop feeling honored just to share a court with the greatest player the sport has known and serve itself by standing toe-to-toe with him on the biggest stage.
It’s always dangerous to look too far ahead, but assuming they can both get there, there’s an enticing fourth-round matchup between Djokovic and Ben Shelton, the fearless 21-year-old American with a 150 mph serve.
Djokovic beat Shelton in the US Open semifinals and then showed it by hugging his birthday party by hanging up the phone at the end. There was a cold look in his handshake.
Speaking of Americans, there are currently six in the top 40, more than any other country.
Some good things happened with them last year. Some less good. And all of them are hoping to kickstart 2024 with a strong showing in Australia.
Tommy Paul, who was a semi-finalist here in 2023, Shelton, and Chris Eubanks are coming off breakthrough seasons. Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Sebastian Korda, who were the most promising of the lot a year ago, came up short of their expectations in 2023.
As they were all reminded repeatedly last year, it’s been two decades since an American man won a Grand Slam title. America’s tennis leaders have been touting their depth, but they know what’s missing, for now, is the unicorn, the player who breaks through and snaps that two-decade drought.
For the first time, Coco Gauff competes in a Grand Slam as a Grand Slam champion.
Advertisement
It’s a huge weight on the shoulders of a 19-year-old prodigy who wonders when her big moment will come since winning matches at Wimbledon at the age of 15.
However, being a Grand Slam champion can be difficult, especially in a tournament that is played on a hard court, like the championship she won at the US Open. There are new expectations to deal with and the players feel the urgency to prove that the first name was not unique.
Gauff has long since become accustomed to being tracked through the cameras and adapting her adventure to the one the outdoor world had designed for her. This could position her better than anyone else to face the next round of challenges.
A Grand Slam in Australia presents all sorts of visually demanding situations for tennis enthusiasts in Europe and America. It takes commitment, sleepless nights, and the ability to take a nap.
ESPN’s collection of channels and broadcast facilities will broadcast every game in the United States. There is a broadcast team on site for the first time since before Covid. On the East Coast, nighttime politics begins with the next day’s afternoon games, the prime time of day. -Scheduled play does not continue until after 3 a. m. or 7 p. m. in Melbourne.
In the UK, you can watch the Australian Open live on Discovery and Eurosport. The time difference is 11 hours, which means standout games throughout breakfast, after school, and morning meetings, unless Andy Murray plays a late-night marathon, like last time. A year that ended with the start of the night trip.
Don’t leave your predictions in the comments.
2003: The last time a non-European won the Australian Open. It’s Andre Agassi.
Advertising
2007: The first time a non-European reached the final. Fernando Gonzalez of Chile.
1976: The last time an Australian man won his home slam. Mark Edmonson pulled it off. Australian men swept the 1960s and won five of the first seven titles in the 1970s. Then the rest of the world started showing up.
Round of 16: This is the furthest Gauff has gone in this tournament. Also this circular that sounded the death knell for Novak Djokovic the last time he lost an attack at Melbourne Park, in 2018. South Korean Chung Hyeon had the week of his career, provoking Alexander Zverev and then Djokovic in consecutive attacks.
Feb 9, 2021: Alcaraz got his first Grand Slam win at 17 over Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp. Two days later, Alcaraz somehow lost to Mikael Ymer of Sweden in a match the now-retired Ymer will surely tell his grandchildren all about.
0: The number of women finalists at the Australian, South American or African Open, the open era that began in Australia in 1969. This would merit a final of Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) against Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil).
30-7: Djokovic sets a record in his 10 Australian Open finals. He won 3-0 times.
5: The number of matches Alcaraz played at the Australian Open, the smallest of any Grand Slam. He played 18 at the French and US Open and thirteen at Wimbledon. He has not yet made it past the third round in Melbourne.
(Top image: Getty Images)