By Seth Gellman
Like many tennis fans, I went into this Australian swing with high hopes for the return of Nadal and Tsitsipas, more dramatic battles between Medvedev, Zverev, and Djokovic, and the quest for that elusive 21st grand slam. There were so many questions entering the season – would Djokovic win his 10th Australian and the elusive number 21? Would the next-gen finally take control of the slams? Would Medvedev or Zverev become No. 1? We didn’t get that. No, no. We got an education in Australian immigration law instead.
On January 4th, Novak Djokovic, who gave several ambiguous statements about his vaccination status against COVID-19 in the months prior, made an Instagram post announcing his departure for Australia with an exemption for the Australian Open’s mandatory vaccination policy. His exemption, as he would later claim, is that he tested positive for the virus on December 16, which would grant him an exemption under Tennis Australia’s exemption protocol. During his flight, the Australian public aired its frustrations out towards the government. When he enters, Djokovic’s passport is taken, and he is questioned by border security for hours. Morrison later reads a letter sent from the health minister to Tennis Australia in November, stating that a positive COVID test within the 6 months before the major was not valid for an exemption. On January 10, Djokovic won a court case against the government on a technicality, as he was given less time to get his documents than promised by border control. However, by Australian law, the immigration minister reserves the right to revoke the Serb’s visa, and he did just that. On January 14, Alex Hawke, the immigration minister, revoked the visa “in the public interest.” Djokovic appealed, lost, and was deported two days after the revocation.
But alas, the show must go on. In fact, days after the saga, Rafael Nadal said that Djokovic is “not bigger” than the Australian Open, and that tennis would go on without him. The main benefactors of Djokovic’s departure were fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, who drew his compatriot in the first round before the world No. 1’s deportation, and Matteo Berrettini, who drew Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Having lost to 20-time slam champ at the previous three majors – the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open – Berrettini was eager to take advantage. But first, he had to go through Carlos Alcaraz in the third round. The Spaniard has widely been tipped as a generational talent and future slam champion, and it’s hard to disagree. His rise has been meteoric, and he took the Italian to a 5th set tiebreak. However, the 7th seed drew on his experience on the big stage and took down the teenager, 10-7 in the breaker.
Elsewhere in the draw, Nick Kyrgios came out of his quasi-retirement to play his first tournament since August. Unfortunately, the Australian drew the most in-form player in tennis in the second round, 2nd seed Daniil Medvedev. In a truly spectacular match, Kyrgios took the Russian to 4 and lost in front of his home crowd. There were several complaints about fans screaming Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous “SIUUUUUU” chant. Medvedev called those fans “low IQ,” which probably antagonized fans even more, but Medvedev doesn’t give the impression that he cares. Medvedev beat serve-and-volley connoisseur Maxime Cressy in the 4th round, and he beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in one of the matches of the tournament, saving a match point in the process.
Adrian Mannarino, who somehow plays tennis without moving his arms, upset 10th and 18th seeds Hubert Hurkacz and Aslan Karatsev, respectively, before losing an epic tiebreak, and later match, against Nadal. Shapovalov took out Zverev in the 4th round before having a meltdown against Nadal, calling the umpire corrupt and losing in 5.
Onto the semifinals! Medvedev beat Tsitsipas, who was quietly moving through the draw, in 4. Nadal took out Berrettini in one of the most and least straightforward matches of the tournament. While the singles continued, Kyrgios played doubles with fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis, whose career was ravaged by injuries in past years. The “Special K’s” beat the 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 16th seeds before coming up against compatriots Matt Ebden and Max Purcell in the final. After a miraculous tournament, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis became grand slam champions. If you told me a month ago that Nick Kyrgios would be a Grand Slam champion, I would have laughed myself to tears. To say that we’ll be hearing that for years is an understatement.
On the women’s side, Ash Barty continued to look like she had a dinner to make, dispatching opponents quickly and effectively. She defeated Anisimova, who defeated Osaka the round prior, saving a match point, Pegula (a Buffalo native!!!), and Keys to reach the final, all very strong and capable opponents. Meanwhile, Danielle Collins took advantage of Clara Tauson’s upset of 6th seed Anett Kontaveit and looked determined to make the final. Veteran Alize Cornet defeated 14th seed Simona Halep in a grueling 4th round encounter to make the quarterfinals, her first since turning pro in 2006. At the bottom of the draw, 2nd seed Aryna Sabalenka narrowly overcame three opponents without serving well before losing to Kaia Kanepi in a third set super-tiebreak. Swiatek fought past Kanepi to make the semifinals before losing to a sharp Collins. 8th seed Badosa, who many tipped as a favorite to win the tournament, went out to Keys in the 4th round, getting blasted off the court by the 2017 US Open finalist. Keys beat 4th seed Krejcikova in the quarterfinals before succumbing to the world no. 1. The Czech would go on to win women’s doubles with her longtime partner Katarina Siniakova.
The finals! Barty started off sharp against Collins, and took the first set 6-3. The American fought back, though, and found herself up 5-1 in the second. Showing the resilience that got her to the top spot, the Australian came from behind to win the second in a tiebreak. She became the first home singles winner at the Australian Open since 1978, and played a nearly perfect tournament.
The second match featured even higher stakes than the first. If Nadal won, he would win the double career slam, winning twice at each of the four majors, while Medvedev would take the top spot in the world with a win on Sunday. Nobody outside of the “Big 4” – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray – has been world no. 1 since February 2004, when Federer took it from Andy Roddick. In the first set, Nadal cracked first, and Medvedev ran away with it, 6-2. The second was much closer, with Nadal serving for it at 5-4. However, the Russian broke back and won it in a tiebreak. Down 2-3 0/40 on his own serve in the third, Nadal looked done and dusted. Commentators have counted out Nadal so many times, but this time it looked truly undoable. As he always seems to do, Nadal dug deep and won the game, creating a shift in momentum. At the same time, Medvedev lost his serve, and Nadal found himself with the third set, 6-4. He ran with an early break to claim the fourth 6-4. As the crowd roared, the commentator proclaimed “To a fifth we go!” And to a fifth we went. After an incredible shot behind the back of Medvedev, Nadal broke in a cagey sixth game. They held serve to 5-4, when Nadal was two points from victory. After showing some nerves, Nadal lost his serve, and Medvedev was right back in the match. The Russian continued to show fatigue, and Nadal broke right back. This time, he made no mistake. Nadal gave the 2nd seed no looks and took the fifth 7-5, making history. After nearly five and a half hours, it was over. Number 21.
After a long month of little sleep – and after that final match, little hair too – it’s over. Nadal won after 6 months without tennis due to a foot surgery and a positive COVID test just weeks before the tournament. Barty stormed to her home slam without dropping a set. Truly a slam of epic proportions.
