Australian Open 2016 Reflections

Now that the dust has settled and the trophies presented to the victorious competitors, I have a few reflections from the fortnight at the Australian Open.

1. Nadal losing to Verdasco in the 1st round.

This was the stand-out moment of the entire fortnight for me. First and foremost, there was some top quality tennis on show. People point out the errors from Verdasco but choose to ignore the equal number of winners he hit. His forehand was on fire and Nadal had no answer to it. After struggling with illness and further injury coupled with a tentaive comeback for the last 16 months or so, the question on my mind is "Why is Nadal still playing tennis? What is his motivation?" The guy has won 14 majors and is a legend of the game. But he is seriously looking weaker with each year and he may not win another major. His records and career stats can only go one way now and I wonder how much longer he can stand to see his stock fall. This will be a key year for Rafa. Can he remain in the top 8? Can he capture another Roland Garros? Just how deep can he go at Wimbledon and the US Open? Can his body handle this busy Olympic year? Will he dump Uncle Toni and try a fresh coaching appointment? There are certainly more questions than answers right now for Nadal.

2. Angelique Kerber winning the ladies singles title

Who saw this one coming? Not many, apparently. Beating Serena in the final is obviously the best way to triumph and represents a defining moment in the German's career. With the win, she has risen to #2 in the rankings and will now feel the pressure to maintain the sort of performances she showed in Melbourne. To be honest, the draw opened up nicely for her - she only faced 2 seeded players in the entire competition (seed 14 Azarenka in the QF and seed 1 Serena in the final). So she had some luck in that respect. However, she also showed a lot of fight and character, coming from match point down in the very first round to go on win the championship.

Can Kerber now establish herself as one of the world's finest? Will she win another major this year? Can she keep up these performances with added pressure of increased status and high ranking involved?

3. The Match-fixing Scandal

This is one I didn't want to mention but had to because of the coverage it has received. The names of Novak Djokovic and Lleyton Hewitt, amongst others, are the more recognisable names linked to the scandal, perhaps slanderously. Only time and investigations will tell, but match-fixing is something tennis needs to eliminate as quickly and harshly as possible.

4. Lleyton Hewitt's Farewell to Tennis

This was one of the enduring moments of the Australian Open of 2016. He put up a good fight in his final defeat to David Ferrer, and the Spaniard was very discreet in his own on-court interview, preferring to allow Lleyton to enjoy his moment. Hewitt was the pioneer of the baseline game for these modern players. He showed it could be successful when courts were faster than what they are today. He battled injury to play with passion and ignite crowds with his never-say-die attitude and fired-up demeanour. The video tribute to Lleyton featuring Federer, Nadal, Kyrgios and Murray was also an excellent touch as Australia said goodbye to a tennis hero.

5. Zhang and Konta's Deep Runs

Two unseeded women, one Chinese, one British. Zhang, a qualifier, reaching the quarters while Konta went all the way to the semis. Zhang defeated Halep in the first round, while Konta knocked out Venus Williams. Impressive statements that led to their quarter-final clash. I was very impressed with Konta's tennis, playing aggressive with a fabulous forehand. Will this be a one-off showing for these two players, or is it the start of something great?

6. Federer's Masterclass against Goffin

There have been so many adjectives and metaphors used in an attempt to describe Roger Federer's tennis genius, and it was on display in the 4th round against poor David Goffin. Federer was hitting every shot in and out of the book with such clean fluency and pinpoint precision while dancing around the court like a majestic ballet dancer. His movement was tremendous and his execution of the backhand down the line sublime. It was a real treat, real tennis, and really, really awesome.

7. Emergence of Milos Raonic

Yes, this was the tournament where Milos Raonic really announced himself as a genuine challenger at major tournaments. His route to the semis was achieved with a monster serve and forehand as well as an improved all-round game. Perhaps most impressive was his composure. Nowhere better was this highlighted than in his 5-set win over Wawrinka. He stayed calm throughout Wawrinka's comeback in sets 3 and 4 and then stepped it up in the 5th. If he can stay injury-free he can be a decent challenger to Djokovic with a different power-play style of tennis. He looks ready to go deeper and perhaps cause a shift in dominance of mens tennis.

8. Djokovic winning his SF and Final too easily

As impressive as Djokovic's consistency in hitting balls deep is, his SF and Final victories seemed too easy for him. Granted, Federer finally woke up and gave Djokovic a minor scare in the 3rd and 4th sets of their semi-final, but before that, it really was one-way traffic. As it was in the 1st set against Murray in the final. Despite the 7-5, 7-6 scoreline in the 2nd and 3rd sets, you just never felt Murray was in it and was going to really present Djokovic with any problems. Who is going to test Djokovic in 2016? Who has the ability to step it up and hurt the Serbian #1? Can he complete the Career Grand Slam this year? The Calendar Slam?

9. Bruno Soares

Yes, the unheralded Brazilian, Bruno Soares, won two major events at the Australian Open. He teamed up with Elena Vesnina to win the mixed doubles title, and also triumphed in the mens doubles with Jamie Murray. A memorable tournament for him personally. 

With Hingis and Mirza also enjoying huge success in womens doubles, just how important are the doubles events in tennis? Do we take them seriously? Should they be taken more seriously? Is a doubles major title less significant than a singles major title? Or do they carry equal weight?

Matches to look out for in the US Open 1st round

The 4th and final major of the year is upon us. Serena Williams is seven matches away from completing the Calendar Year Grand Slam and equalling Steffi Graf's record of 22 major titles. Novak Djokovic comes to Flushing Meadows hoping to win his 10th major to complete a highly successful year winning 3 of the 4 major titles.

Here is my selection of matches to watch out for in the US Open 1st round.

1. All eyes will be on #1 Serena Williams in her first round match against Vitalia Diatchenko. If she starts well, talk will only grow over her chances of clinching the Calendar Year Grand Slam.

2. An all-American tie including Coco Vandeweghe and Sloane Stephens features in the top half of the ladies draw. Vandeweghe put on an impressive showing at this year's Wimbledon while Sloane Stephens tries to elevate herself into major contention.

3. The demise of Eugenie Bouchard has been rapid and has seen her slip to seed 25 for this year's US Open. She has caused a stir over her unsportsmanlike behaviour in the Davis Cup and is in real need of a re-imaging on the court. That always starts with winning matches, and in the 1st round she will be up against Alison Riske of the United States. Expect the crowd to be behind the home player. Bouchard needs to turn the corner soon.

4. Perhaps the tie of the women's 1st round is 7th seed Ana Ivanovic versus feisty unseeded Slovak, Dominica Cibulkova. This is an intriguing match-up. Ivanovic has fought her way back to form while Cibulkova has struggled to live up to her own high standards following her thrilling run to the final in Melbourne last year.

5. On the mens draw, two really good players who have never made the breakthrough on the major scene. Fernando Verdasco, the 'other' left-handed Spaniard versus Tommy Haas, the German who continues to defy his age. Both players struggle with consistency, but on their day can play some top tennis. I favour Verdasco in this one, but it could be a good match.

6. Another golden oldie, Lleyton Hewitt, is in his farewell year on the ATP World Tour as his retirement from the sport draws ever closer. He will definitely be looking to go out with a bang during the penultimate major of his career. He is well-loved and respected throughout tennis for his battling skills and he will be ready for a typical battle in the 1st round against Aleksandr Nedovyesov.

7. Wherever there is Roger Federer, there will be an admiring audience. The Swiss legend is in town again, in some of the best form of his career, eyeing an 18th major title after his back-to-back wins over Murray and Djokovic in Cincinnati. He is up against Leonardo Mayer, the 33rd ranked player who held 5 match points against Federer earlier in the year, but couldn't convert. May be a little closer than most expect but I still back Federer in straight sets.

8. The first of the two tastiest mens 1st round match-ups involves teenager Borna Coric versus 14-time major champion Rafael Nadal. Coric is a rising star on tour who comfortably beat Nadal in Basel last year before the Spaniard went on a lengthy injury/illness layoff. Nadal has never recovered his full form since then and has endured a torrid year, falling to defeats to players ranked outside the top 100 amongst others. I class this as a potential upset but still expect Nadal to call on his experience to pull him through this one.

9. For me, the most intriguing match of the 1st round is Andy Murray versus Nick Kyrgios. You could say Murray drew the short straw with this 1st round tie. (We are glad it wasn't Wawrinka who ended up with this one!) Kyrgios is under intense scrutiny after he brought the game into disrepute with his disparaging remarks on court aimed at Wawrinka recently. He is fast becoming the bad boy of tennis, though his opponent, Murray, is not exactly a saint either. Kyrgios has the ability and weapons to win this match, so this is another potential upset, but it really depends on the state of his mind and his ability to block out what could be a very hostile crowd.

Federer's draw for Australian Open 2013

The draw for the Australian Open 2013 is out and Roger Federer has a 1st round match against Benoit Paire.

From then on, it gets more tricky, with a likely 2nd round clash with the unpredictable Nikolay Davydenko. I don't want to look beyond that. I'm intrigued as to how rusty Federer may or may not be after not playing a competitive match since November.

Roger won't have much time to get in a rhythm as he'll need to be on the top of his game right away, at least from the 2nd round onwards.

I'm excited for Monday, in particular a men's 1st round clash between Janko Tipsarevic and an in-form Lleyton Hewitt, who has just beaten Raonic and Berdych back-to-back this week.

It's been a long time waiting to see Roger play again, so let's hope he can go deep in Melbourne!