Australian Open Diaries
Among January’s biggest sports headliners was the Australian Open. After the Djokovic deportation fiasco, there was a debate as to who led the odds for claiming the men’s singles title. Front runners included Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev (3-1), Rafael Nadal (9-2), Jannik Sinner (14-1), Stefanos Tsitsipas (14-1). Women’s singles had Ashleigh Barty in most parlays (5-2), Simona Halep (11-2), Naomi Osaka (6-1), Iga Swiatek (7-1). But what happened along the way before Nadal’s 21st Grand Slam and Ashleigh becoming the first Aussie to win women’s singles at the Australian Open in 44 years.
Held at Melbourne Park, Australia from 17th-30th January 2022, was the 110th edition of the Australian Open. Event categories included singles and doubles in men, women, boys, girls, wheelchair and wheelchair quads as well as mixed doubles played over 25 hard courts and four main show courts. Equality was a priority, as winners of the men’s singles and women’s singles were paid A$ 2,875,000 each.
We saw several tournament-defining moments throughout the events.
The third-round match-up between Matteo Berrettini and Carlos Alcaraz was one of the most awaited match-ups in the tournament. It ended with the Italian denying Carlos the win after a grueling 4-hour match. Deniil Medvedev defeating Felix Auger- Allassime was another major bit of the storyline. At four hours and forty-two minutes (third longest men’s singles of the tournament), Medvedev made a comeback, thriving under the pressure for his quarterfinals win.
At the end of it all, the big showdown at the men’s singles finals, Nadal looked to break the three-way tie of 20 major titles between Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and himself. Daniil Medvedev was straight off the US Open title where he defeated ATP rank 1, Novak Djokovic. All of this boiled down to an intense match well over five hours after Medvedev started off with a two-set lead. However, Nadal redeemed himself winning three consecutive sets bringing an end to one of the best finals showdowns in quite a while.
-Adwait Deshmukh
FY B.Sc