One of the most anticipated spectacles in January in addition to other New year festivities Down Under is the beginning of the tennis season. It gears up in full flow quite early as the 1st grand slam of the year , The Australian Open. Not only it provides us with excellent weather conditions to watch the world ‘s best in the game early on in the year , but also caters for asia pacific to host an event and showcase some of the talent on that side of the world, away from the european and the american hubs.
Australia’s home Grand Slam singles deficit streak is another story. 1978 was the last year the host nation celebrated home singles success in the form of Christina O Neill.In 2016 , we bid farewell for one of their favourites Lleyton Hewitt,the 2001 US open & 2002 Wimbledon champion. As is customary, the world’s top men’s and women‘s players have had their 6 week end of season break and warmed up to start in style by help of practice tourneys in asia and the pacific rim region.
One of the unique aspects of this grand slam is the Plexicushion Prestige surface which plays a bit different to other hard courts. It is a blend of latex and rubber and has been installed since 2008 . The main show piece matches take place under lights when the cooler temps prevail including the men s and women singles finals. The Rod Laver Arena has retractable roof so unlike the US open, there are no delays of a 3rd Monday to get a men’s champion crowned.
Speaking of champions , Roger Federer came into Melbourne ranked world no 3 . He had successfully revitalised his career under the patronage of the legendary Stefan Edberg , another 2 time winner of this event. Roger hasn’t won a slam since Wimbledon 2012. When he lost at the second round at Wimbledon 2013 to the Ukranian Sergei Stakhovsky and then later in the summer in the fourth round to Tommy Robredo in New York , many suggested he should hang his boots up. He did just the opposite. He won six ATP events in 2015 defeating Novak Djokovic in Dubai , Cincinnati Masters finals as well as the round robin of World Tour finals. Federer is in the twilight of his career and has won everything tennis has to offer. He owns 17 singles grand slams, 4 of them in Melbourne last winning in 2010 . He is a perennial favourite across the globe with all the fans.
Rafael Nadal, once a favourite on all surfaces bowed out at the first hurdle to long time compatriot Fernando Verdasco in five sets.Verdasco produced some breathtaking shots reviving the match these two shared in 2009 quarters on the same surface.It was the year Nadal won his only Australian Open. Nadal has struggled in 2015 and whether he will recover from barrage of poor performances to have a shot at Paris this year remains to be seen.Certainly for many a time,2015 was his worst year as he went without a slam since 2005.
Amongst the potential to upset the top 3 in 2016 was Milos Raonic.The Serbian born Canadian reached the Aussie open 4th round in 2011 as a qualifier and 2015 quarters. This year he went a step better catching attention when he upset the 2014 champion Stanislaw Wawrinka, the 4th seed in the last 16.The Swiss no. 2, from Saint-Barthelme, was cruising in the three previous rounds until being stunned in the five setter.Raonic himself had beaten Roger Federer in the Brisbane tuneup two weeks earlier and came into the Open in rich form. He was rewarded with a semi against another perennial finalist, Andy Murray. Andy was a bit too much for Milos over five sets although the youngster led two sets to one at one point. An injury however to Milos meant Andy went into his 5th Aussie final.
Entering into this slam,Novak Djokovic was the running favourite.he was the reigning champion, World no 1, and having won 4 of the last 5 Aussie opens on this particular surface. He seems to electrify the Rod Laver arena and was cruising until Giles Simon pushed him to five sets and 100 unforced errors in Round 4.Novak nevertheless kept his cool, and progressed to the prized semifinal showdown with Roger. The semi with Roger was a final in itself and the hype was unmatchable . Novak blitzed through the 1st 2 sets in under fifty minutes and was looking in the form of his life.Roger found a way back, as he usually does to force a 4th set . Novak ,however was hitting sublime winners back and forth with the Swiss not as sharp as in earlier rounds and it showed, as the Serb advanced in four sets.
The final was much softer then the two semis as Novak blew away Murray . The first set went the same way as the Federer semi , with Novak winning 6-1.The next two sets the Briton competed though not to same intensity as a finalist would have plus Novak had the mental confidence to strike gold again. He won in straight sets to claim his 6th Norman Brookes Challenge cup,tying Ross Emerson’s amateur record .
Despite the one sided final, the Australian Open proved to have other highlights . A new women ‘s single’s champion was crowned. Angelique Kerber, a German won upsetting the Serena Williams defence in 3 tight sets. She became the 1st German since 1994 to win here when Steffi Graf won. That was 22 years ago.Ironically It was set up to be as Serena ‘s 22nd title, the number of singles titles Steffi has.Andy ‘s younger brother Jamie won the doubles with Bruno Soares who teamed up with Elina Vesnina to win the mixed doubles as well.Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis kept their 2015 slam winning streak with women’s doubles trophy.
What more can one ask with Grand Slam Tennis in the day and night,under closed roof or open air with attendances soaring watching some great quality viewing.Some of the greats like Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall attended the final. If the fortnight in Melbourne is taken as a prelude to what will happen in the year of 2016 in tennis , then we indeed can say that Australian Open in the words of Roger Federer himself,is indeed “The Happy Slam “.
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