By Tabitha Swiatek
The Australian Open was a professional tennis tournament that took place during January 7th- 28th, and brought some remarkable results for both the Mens and Womens Singles Draw.
The Women’s draw had some incredible wins. Coco Gauff, 1 year old American tennis player (and US Open winner) defeated Marta Kostyuk in the Quarterfinals. Gauff ended the first set in a tie breaker, winning 8-6, lost the second set to a tiebreaker 3-7, but then confidently won the third set 6-2, delivering a decisive blow. Once in the semi finals, Coco Gauff had to face Aryna Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open in 2023. Gauff put up a hard fight, but lost to Aryna in a tiebreaker 2-7, and then lost the second set 4-6. Aryana Sabelenka then moved on to the finals, where she then went on to play against Qinwen Shen, a 21-year old-tennis player from China. Sablenka pulled through during the finals, defeating Qinwen 6-2 6-3, and was then crowned the 2024 Australian Open Women’s Singles Champion. Aryna Sabalenka was able to successfully defend her title and claim yet another Grand Slam victory.
The Men’s Singles delivered some pretty astonishing results as well. One of the semi finals matches was between Alexander Zverev, 26 years of age from Germany, against 20 year old Carlos Alcaraz of Spain. Both Players fought a hard battle, and Zverev grabbed a win after winning 3 of the 4 sets. Zverev won the first two sets: 6-1 and 6-3, then lost the third set in a tiebreaker: 2-7, and then won the next set 6-4. Zverev then went on to play against Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the Semi Finals. Zverev fought a hard battle against Medvedev, Zverev won the first 2 sets 5-7 and 6-3, lost the next to tiebreakers 4-7 and 5-7, and then lost the fifth and final set 3-6. Medvedev then had to go up against Jannik Sinner, a 22 year old from Italy, in the finals. This final lasted 5 full sets and had the crowd holding their breath. Medvedev won the first two sets 6-3 and 6-3, while Sinner won the next 3 sets 6-4, 6-4, and 6-3, thus winning his first ever Grand Slam title. As being crowned the Men’s Singles Australian Open Champion, Jannik Sinner said to Medvedev: “I know we’ve played so many finals already together, but every match I find something where I can improve and you always make me a much, much better player.”
In a little bit less than a year, the Australian Open will start back up again, with former champions eager to defend their title, and others fighting hard to win their first grand slam. Will Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner win again next January? Who knows for sure–we will have to tune in and watch to see.
