Sunday, Jan 30, 2022. 10:40 AM
What a great moment for the men’s final round as Rafael Nadal triumphs over Daniil Medvedev to edge out Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer with a 21st Grand Slam title! Rafa writes history!
This final however was filled with turnovers as the Russian led 2 sets to 0 before Rafa changed his strategy to become a bit more attacking while cutting unforced errors to go for the next 3 sets. This bugger of a man is really special. Once again he gives us an incredible lesson in resilience, hard work and great pride. Nadal will always be the competitor that I appreciate the most because he makes a point of forgetting the fatigue and the pains while drawing from the depths of his soul and keeping an attitude of respect towards the adversary and all those that gravitate around an event like the one in Melbourne. Impressive!
Among the ladies, crowning of the darling of the country Ashleigh Barty who displays her great talent and her superiority during the fortnight to get a 3rd Grand Slam title and a first ahead of her family. It’s fascinating to see how far Ash has progressed over the years emotionally. She flies over her first 6 meetings with the aplomb of a seasoned veteran. In the final, however, against the powerful American Danielle Collins, she extricated herself from a 1-5 deficit in the second set to triumph without losing a single set throughout the tournament.
I love how the world number 1 plays tennis so much, for several reasons. Firstly, his great versatility allows him to excel in all phases of the game: attacking, countering and defending while being aware of the value of the rally and the appropriate moment to move from one phase of play to the other. As she has all the shots, she varies to thwart the opponent sometimes by taking up the rhythm with her cut backhand to better follow up with accelerations in crossed or uncrossed forehand. But beyond the aspects related to the game, even more important to see the beautiful symbiosis that exists with the 4 specialists who surround him to help him progress day by day. Ashleigh has transformed over the years to stay grounded in her matches. This stability allows her to make adequate analyzes and adjust in the middle of a match, which is quite rare on the women’s circuit.
It should be noted that this is the second year in a row that we find in the women’s final a lady from Uncle Sam’s country who comes from the university circuit. Last year, Jennifer Brady (national champion with UCLA in 2014) lost in the final round to Naomi Osaka. This proves that there are many ways to achieve its goals and that federations should perhaps encourage this path even more. Just listening to Collins share her experience on the microphone during the trophy ceremony, we realize that this lady is educated and interesting to listen to. She will find herself in the top-10 on Monday. Another example: do you remember in February 2020 who won the Drummondville Challenger? It is the French Maxime Cressy then 252nd in the world. He too leaves his hometown of Paris to try his luck at the University of California at Los Angeles, but does not make the team the first year. Regardless, he meets people there who believe in him. During the fortnight, he delivered a superb match to Medvedev in the round of 16, even snatching a set from him in addition to beating John Isner in 5 sets in the 1st round. Cressy will be 59th on Monday…
You obviously remember how painful the pre-tournament was to live with as the incredible saga surrounding Novak Djokovic raged. Tournament Director Craig Tiley and his acolytes recovered well to carefully prepare for the final with a beautiful pre-match show with a performance of a song entitled: “She will rise”. Barty also rose to be the first Australian since Chris O’Neill to win the tournament in 1978. O’Neill beat American Betsy Nagelsen 6-3, 7-6. Amusing anecdote, Nagelsen recently coached Collins while his protege also lost in the final by the same score. The organizers had also reserved a nice surprise for Barty by inviting none other than the great champion Evonne Goolagong to give her her trophy. Goolagong, who acts as a mentor to Ashleigh, is also of Aboriginal descent. As there were beautiful emotions on the podium during the closing ceremony. Truly, a grand finale…
Let’s go now to some quotes heard during the fortnight. Medvedev didn’t hesitate to offer us some juicy ones. In the 2nd round, he beat Nick Kyrgios with difficulty while the crowd was unbridled. After the match, in an interview, he gives us his thoughts on the fact that the spectators whistle him between his 1st and 2nd service ball. Here is his comment: “It is frankly disappointing and it proves their low intelligence quotient. You want me to lose? Encourage me. Want me to win? Hate me…”. Holy Daniel…
In the half, Medvedev faces Stefanos Tsitsipas and loses his lead after losing his serve in the second set. The Russian is furious because referee Jaime Campistol does not penalize Stefanos’ father, who talks nonstop, offering advice to his son. Frustrated because the referee didn’t pay too much attention to his request, Medvedev yelled at him: “Look at me, idiot, I’m talking to you”. To end up calling it: “Little cat”. This makes the journalists present at his post-match conference laugh.
Tsitsipas, who receives coaching warnings at all tournaments, tells us that when his father is nervous during a match, he speaks without being able to control himself. He doesn’t even listen to him because he’s focused on his thing, but lets him. Personally, I can’t believe that Apostolos doesn’t realize his behavior is unacceptable and decides on his own to watch his son’s game in a box upstairs or in the players’ lounge. . He harms his son and passes for a crank. What sane dad wants to do that? Phew!
Now here is my favourite. It is not difficult to find since it is to Félix Auger-Aliassime that I award it. The Quebecer is fighting such an intense fight against Daniil Medvedev that he could have won it. The FAA level is top-3 in this meeting and confirms what we hoped for, that he carries within him a great treasure and that he has everything it takes to win the biggest titles one day. .
Little news in closing, Djokovic acquired in June 2020 80% of the Danish biotech Quant Bio Res which is developing a treatment against the COVID-19 virus. Does that mean we are far from out of the woods? In another vein, the Serb will have decisions to make since the government of France has made it known that since January 24 the non-vaccinated are prohibited in the country. Can he defend his title at Roland Garros?
