New memories were made as the Australian Open, held in Melbourne Park, ended the first month of 2024. This year, the Australian Open surprised many fans with its results, leaving many players devastated, but also made many ecstatic.
Ultimately, Jannik Sinner took home the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup for the men’s side and Aryna Sabalenka claimed the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup for the women’s side. Both players performed at their best, beating great players along the way. The men’s and women’s side had high steaks filled with thrilling matches.
Jannik Sinner made his way into his first Grand Slam final by beating Novak Djokovic, ranked first in the world, in four sets in the semi-finals. In the final, Sinner won his first Grand Slam title by beating Daniil Medvedev, ranked third in the world, after trailing by two sets.
Ryan Qin (‘25), a member of the Boys Varsity Tennis team said, “I was very happy that Djokovic lost to Sinner even though I didn’t expect it.”
Michelle M. Wang (‘27), a member of the Girls Varsity Tennis team said, “Djokovic is a very accomplished player, but he played really poorly in the match versus Sinner.” Djokovic had 54 unforced errors during the whole match, while Sinner only had 28. Djokovic later commented on his performance during the match, saying, “I guess this is one of the worst Grand Slam matches I’ve ever played.”
Coach Matt Copland, Boys’ and Girls’ Varsity Tennis Coach, said, “Many factors could have played into why Djokovic lost, but the main one was Sinner was just stronger on that day. I believe previous results helped Sinner feel like he belonged on the same stage as Djokovic.” Right now, Djokovic still leads Sinner with four wins out of the total seven times they have played each other, but Sinner has won three of the last four matches he and Djokovic played together.
Carley Chen (‘25), a skilled tennis player said, “I really like [Sinner’s] game and I think he’s a pretty calm player. He’s also super young, so he has a lot of potential.” Sinner is now 22 years old and according to Tennis365, he is the ninth youngest Australian Open men’s champion in the Open Era, which started in 1968. Ryan also said, “I think Sinner has a very bright future. Sinner is very impressive from the baseline and his game is extremely solid.”
Aryna Sabalenka, a Belarusian player, defended her Australian Open women’s singles title this year by beating the ranked number on Chinese player, Zheng Qinwen. Coach Matt said, “After winning the tournament, she now has a great opportunity to push for world number one.” As of January 29, 2024, Sabalenka is ranked second in the world, but she had reached first in the world in September 2023. The number one ranked player is now Iga Świątek.
Carley commented on Sabalenka saying, “she works really hard and suffers [from] a lot of judgment because of her country’s situation and also [for] being a female athlete who is more outspoken and aggressive. So I think [from] being a player like that, there is a lot of judgment online. I’m really proud of her winning.” Because of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian flags are not shown during play, and many players from those countries often face a lot of hate either online or in person.
In addition, Sabalenka sadly lost her father in 2019, and after winning her second Grand Slam title, Sabalenka told reporters, “I lost my father four years ago. We had one dream: that before 25, I will win a couple of Grand Slams.” Michelle said she found this statement heartfelt.
According to the New Indian Express, this is the first year since 2014 that a Chinese player has made it to the Australian Open final. Carley said, “it’s been a while since there’s been a deep-going Chinese athlete in tennis, so that was exciting.” After getting to her first Grand Slam final, as of January 29, 2024, Zheng is ranked seventh in the world.
This year is the first year that the Big Three, consisting of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, did not make it to the Australian Open final since 2005, according to Tennis.com. These three legends are considered the best of the best in the world of tennis. Combined, these three have won 66 Grand Slam titles.
Roger Federer retired in 2022, Rafael Nadal had just come back from a hip injury from last year, and Novak Djokovic is still playing. Carley said, “From this Australian Open, we can see that [Djokovic] is not as dominant as he was before… I think it’s really nice to see some new players.”
Djokovic is still ranked first in the world after his Australian Open loss to Sinner. Coach Matt said, “Djokovic will continue to be a force the next few years. Even though he lost in Australia, he is hungry enough to continue to work. Nadal’s continued injury issues are making it hard for him to play consistently. I do believe he will be strong for the French Open and he will always be considered a favorite no matter how much tennis he has played.” Nadal has won 14 French Open titles, and many fans are rooting for him this year.
“Tennis is in a good place after the Australian Open and if the level of play continues into the year the fans are going to be very happy,” Coach Matt said. This year’s Australian Open was thrilling. 1,020,763 fans came through the Melbourne Park gates, beating previous records. A new men’s champion arose and many new stars have shown their potential. Now, the French Open is just a few months away. The performances at the Australian Open beg the question: who will take home Musketeers’ cup this year?