The first grand slam of the tennis calendar has now closed its chapters Down Under,
The 2023 Australian Open has come and gone, crowning two emphatic singles champions in the hot and dry Melbourne climate.
The women’s field has a new major winner in Aryna Sabalenka, Novak Djokovic continued his charge towards the pantheon of athletic greatness, superstars Rafa and Iga were sent home early, and the Canadians are surely hungry for more. Here are five takeaways from the first tennis major of 2023:
Novak Djokovic: The King of Melbourne Park
He’s the most dominant hard-court player men’s tennis has ever seen and after missing out on last year’s event, Djokovic returned to Melbourne with a vengeance.
One of the world’s greatest athletes, Djokovic again proved to be a class above the rest of the field, as he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 to capture a record 10th crown at the Australian Open and 22nd singles major.
The victory pulls him into a dead heat with Rafael Nadal for most men’s singles slams all-time, and at aged 35, he looks decisively fresh and hungry to continue collecting hardware.
Djokovic arrived in Melbourne with trepidation over a nagging hamstring injury that he suffered the previous week in Adelaide, but was able to manage the pain, competing with a heavy strapping over his upper leg through much of the tournament.
He led things off with a routine win over Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain in the first round, then navigated out of trouble against qualifier Enzo Couacaud, winning 6-1, 6-7, 6-2, 6-0.
That would be the only set he dropped all fortnight, as he then dispatched Grigor Dimitrov, Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev, Tommy Paul, and finally Tsitsipas to hoist the trophy.
The latest triumph is raising this popular sporting conversation again…
Is he the G.O.A.T.?
Novak Djokovic continues to pile up remarkable numbers, records, and accolades and has made his strongest claim yet as the greatest male player statistically in tennis history.
With his latest win, he’s the only player, male or female, to record 10 Australian Open singles titles.
He’s also the only player to win all four majors, all nine Masters 1000 events, and the ATP Tour Finals in a career, and he has won each event at least twice.
He’s achieved a double calendar grand slam across all surfaces, one of two players to do so (alongside Rafael Nadal).
He’s also been to a record 33 grand slam finals, won seven or more grand slam titles on two different surfaces, reached the semifinals or better nine times at every major, and won a record 12 slams on hard courts.
Djokovic has also spent a record 373 weeks as the world No. 1, a place he will return on Monday.
With Roger Federer’s official retirement last year, the quest for most grand slams is now a two-man race and much will be at stake at this year’s French Open with Djokovic and Nadal deadlocked at 22 majors.
Nadal is of course the most dominant player in clay court tennis, with a record 14 slams at Roland Garros.
Sabalenka seizes first ever major
She is one of the most powerful ball strikers in the women’s game – it’s only fitting she became a major champion.
Aryna Sabalenka broke through in Melbourne, defeating Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to seize the Australian Open crown.
The final was the greatest show of all.
In a blistering matchup one could deem Fire vs. Ice, Sabalenka overcame Rybakina in a true heavyweight power matchup, as the players exchanged massive body blows from the baseline for 2 hours, 28 minutes.
The encounter was worthy of such a celebration from Sabalenka, who collapsed to the ground, overcome with emotion.
The statistics in particular leap off the page in this remarkable encounter.
The two players combined to hit 82 winners, 26 aces, and both won 71 per cent of points on their powerful first serves.
Sabalenka was forced to rally from a difficult position, trailing 4-6, and 15-40 in the opening game of the second set before finding a crucial hold of serve and shifting momentum.
The tension rose to a climax in the penultimate set, with Sabalenka needing four championship points at 5-4 in the third before closing it out against her Kazakhstani competitor.
With her first major title, Aryna Sabalenka has proven herself a worthy champion across all levels of the WTA.
She has now won 250s, 500s, 1000s, and a grand slam trophy.
She returns to her career-high ranking of No. 2 and has 12 titles in all.
For Rybakina, a self-admittedly shy introvert, she continues to let her tennis do the talking.
The tall, svelte 23-year-old has now been to the finals of two of the last three majors, having won Wimbledon last season.
She debuts inside the top 10 of the rankings on Monday.
Top seeds take a tumble in Melbourne
Upsets largely rocked the grounds of Melbourne through the first week of the Australian Open, but it was even the biggest stars that suffered shock defeats.
Nadal arrived as the defending champion but acknowledged he was vulnerable, given his struggles in form at the tail end of 2022 and to begin the year.
Up-start American Mackenzie McDonald rose to the challenge, defeating Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in the second round, a match the Spaniard essentially limped to the finish line in.
Now Nadal is back to rehabbing yet another injury, this one to his hip.
At the bottom of the men’s draw, two-time grand slam finalist Casper Ruud was caught off guard by the unorthodox game of American Jenson Brooksby, who stymied the Norwegian 6-3, 7-5, 6-7, 6-2 in a thrilling second round encounter.
Ruud will fall to fourth in the rankings with the lackluster result.
Iga Swiatek is still far and away the world number one in women’s tennis but could not solve the dominant serving display from Elena Rybakina in the round of 16, falling to the eventual finalist 6-4, 6-4.
Iga, the pride of Poland, set such an immense standard of tennis in 2022 with two majors, eight titles, and a 37-match winning streak.
The result of this amazing success – she’ll be playing with a big target on her back all season long.
Meantime, Ons Jabeur reached two major finals last year at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and is still longing for a breakthrough victory at a grand slam.
Left-hander Marketa Vondrousova defeated the Tunisian 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 on Day 4 of the event.
Jabeur is a remarkably inspiring player, the first from an Arab nation to ever reach the upper echelons of the game.
She has handled the pressure and weight of expectations admirably well through this stage of her career, so there’s no reason to cast doubt on her ability to bounce back.
What’s next for top Canadians?
Felix Auger-Aliassime was the top-performing Canadian at this year’s edition of the Australian Open, though he would be the first tell you he is not satisfied.
The number six seed reached the round of 16 before bowing out to Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic.
The Montreal native will return to action at the ABN AMRO from Rotterdam in two weeks, site of his first career ATP title last season.
Denis Shapovalov has turned a corner with his tennis since the fall, winning 16 of his last 23 matches since the 2022 US Open.
In Melbourne, he lost a five-set epic to world no. 10 Hubert Hurkacz 7-6, 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3.
There is so much to love about Shapovalov’s game.
He has an explosive first serve, punishing groundstrokes that penetrate the court, savvy and skilled hands at net, and great agility and athleticism from defensive positions.
With all the necessary tools for greatness, the next steps needed come on the mental aspect of the game.
Shapovalov will play at the Delray Beach Open in Florida, beginning February 13th.
2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu was no doubt disappointed to leave Melbourne with a second-round loss to qualifier Cristina Bucsa.
She’s wasting no time returning to action, competing as the top-seeded player this week at the Toyota Thailand Open.
Leylah Annie Fernandez may have looked the most impressive of any Canadian in defeat, dropping a high-octane clash to world no. 4 Caroline Garcia, 7-6, 7-5.
Fernandez suffered a troubling foot injury last season at Roland Garros but has been quietly back on track toward her best level of tennis.
She’s scheduled to compete again in mid-February at the WTA500 in Doha.
Unseeded and under the radar, Leylah should compete pressure-free.
A dangerous proposition for any of her potential opponents.