The Australian Open started with 256 total singles players; only 2 were left standing in the end. One holding her first Grand Slam title and the other holding his record-tying 22nd title.
Sabalenka has been a top contender at tournaments ever since she broke onto the scene and into the top 10 of the Women’s Tennis Association rankings in 2019 (Coretennis) However, the inconsistency in her game always was her achilles’ heel. She would hit twice as many winners* as her opponent but also hit twice as many unforced* errors. Some tournaments, she was locked in and unbeatable, such as Madrid in 2021, where she only dropped one set in the whole tournament to Ashleigh Barty (Coretennis). Others, she would fall unexpectedly early, and these would unfortunately come in some of the biggest moments: a first round loss in Melbourne (2020), a second round loss at the US Open (2020), and most recently a third round exit at the French Open (2022).
Last year, Sabalenka led the tour in double faults, increasing the variance in her results. Working with her coach, Anton Dubrov, she seems to have solved the mechanics issue, which also removed any possible mental blocks that she had while serving. All of this culminated in the huge win against Elena Rybakina in January, sending her to number 2 in the rankings.
On the women’s side, the Australian open favoured big hitters, exemplified by the final between Sabalenka and Rybakina. Some notable players eliminated early were the more passive ones. Daria Kasatkina was ousted in the first round 1-6 1-6 by Varvara Gracheva, hitting only 3 winners* the entire match. Also, Martina Trevisan, the 21st seed* was upset in the first round by Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 2-6 3-6, hitting only 6 winners* (Sofascore).
Meanwhile, Jelena Ostapenko (21.7% of points she wins by a winner), Donna Vekic (16.8%), and Karolina Pliskova (18.1%) had deep runs by swinging for the fences. World number 1 Iga Swiatek missed out on the semifinals, but another Pole took her place – Magda Linette (Tennis Abstract).
Other notable results include Rybakina beating Swiatek in the 4th round, Anhelina Kalinina defeating 15th seed* Petra Kvitova in the 2nd round, Katie Volynets ousting 9th seed* Veronika Kudermetova in the 2nd round, and Lin Zhu making it to the 4th round – and then capturing a title the next week in Hua Hin, Thailand.
For the men, history repeated itself yet again, with Novak Djokovic dropping just one set en route to his 10th Australian Open title. Last year, without being vaccinated, he was unable to compete, and Rafael Nadal consequently stepped up and captured the title. This time, Nadal was caught out of form and outplayed by Mackenzie McDonald in the second round before suffering a hip injury and hobbling through the third set. The defending champion is expected to be out until at least March for the Sunshine Double, but most likely he will play it safe and sit out until the clay court season starting in April.
For Djokovic, the title meant a lot, calling it “one of the most important wins in my life” (Eurosport). Showcasing that he is still one of the best to ever play, he reclaims a share of the lead in the Grand Slam title race, which now stands at 22-22-20 (Djokovic-Nadal-Federer). He is human, as a few lapses in the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas showed, but at the end of the day, nobody was able to stop his combination of mental fortitude and on-court consistency.
The first week of the Australian Open showcased sensational efforts by the United Kingdom’s own Andy Murray. He defeated 13 seed* Matteo Berrettini in the first round and then home crowd favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis, both in 5 sets. The second round match lasted until 4:05 am and was drama filled, Murray coming back from 2 sets down (“Andy Murray beats Thanasi Kokkinakis in near-six-hour Australian Open epic”, The Guardian). 12 seed* Sascha Zverev played in his first major since pulling out of the French Open with an injury, but he fell in the second round to lucky loser* Michael Mmoh. Taylor Fritz, the 8 seed*, was seen as a contender but Aussie Alexei Popyrin took him out in the second round.
Casper Ruud, the second seed* and US Open finalist, was eliminated by American Jenson Brooksby. Fellow Americans Tommy Paul (semifinal), Ben Shelton (quarterfinal), and Sebastian Korda (quarterfinal) performed above expectations. Showman Nick Kyrgios and US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz were notable absentees in 2023’s rendition of the Australian Open. In the end, the next generation of players fell short of a title, and Novak took the throne of world number one once again.
Terminology Index (words with *) (source: Merriam Webster)
Winner: “A shot in a court game that is not returned and that scores for the player making it.” If someone hits a winner, that means their opponent couldn’t touch the ball.
Unforced error: “A missed shot or lost point (as in tennis) that is entirely a result of the player’s own blunder and not because of the opponent’s skill or effort.”
Seed: “A competitor who has been seeded in a tournament.” In the 4 Grand Slam tournaments, the top 32 players are guaranteed not to play each other until the round of 32, giving them an advantage.
Lucky Loser: A player who lost in the qualifying round but was able to participate in the main draw of the tournament due to someone pulling out.
References
https://www.coretennis.net/tennis-player/aryna-sabalenka/53210/ranking.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryna_Sabalenka
https://www.sofascore.com/gracheva-kasatkina/vXcbsfpLb
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jan/19/andy-murray-australian-open-tennis-thanasi-kokkinakis
