It’s been a
little over two weeks since the 2016 Australian Open ended and I’m long overdue
to share my 10 takeaways from the first grand slam of the year. It was an
exciting two weeks of tennis and a lot to unpack, so here I go!
#1. Who can stop Novak Djokovic? Novak Djokovic won the men's singles title, dominating Andy Murray 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 in the final. Djokovic collected his 6th Australian Open title and his 11th grand slam title overall. Unless some other young phenom comes up in the next couple of years, it's hard to see Novak Djokovic not breaking Roger Federer's grand slam title record of 17. He is locked in and extremely focused right now. The only thing he is yet to accomplish is win the title at Roland Garros, but with the way he's playing, I really like his chances to do it this year.
#2. Angelique Kerber's moment finally came: Angelique Kerber defeated Serena Williams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the women's final to capture her first career grand slam title. While many of us wanted to see Serena Williams give herself another shot at the calendar grand slam, it was really heart warming to see Angelique Kerber finally breakthrough and win her first grand slam. She's been knocking on the door for a while and she finally got it done.
There was a look of relief, excitement, and child-like joy on her face. It was really neat to see how much winning a grand slam meant to her. It'll be interesting to see whether or not Kerber can win another grand slam or not, but regardless of what the future holds for her, she will forever be in a very elite club of grand slam champions.
Tennis is a sport where winning one championship doesn't seem like much since there are four grand slam championships every year, but in truth, winning one is a big deal and Angelique Kerber should really enjoy this one. So few players ever get the satisfaction of winning one, let alone multiple, grand slams.
#3. Is the end finally coming for Roger Federer? Roger Federer lost in the semifinals to Novak Djokovic and shortly after, it was revealed that he needed to undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee. While he will be back on the courts competing by hopefully March, one does have to wonder whether or not we will ever see Roger Federer win another grand slam title. He is still one of the top-5 players in the world without question, but the gap between Federer and Djokovic is widening and not closing.
If Roger Federer doesn't win Wimbledon this year, I'm not sure we'll ever see him win another grand slam. Also, Roger Federer has never won an Olympic gold medal and the 2016 Olympic games in Rio will certainly be his last opportunity to do that. This is a big year for Roger Federer and I hope he'll be able to win another slam and get that Olympic gold.
#4. Serena Williams is still the player to go through to win a grand slam: Even though she didn't win the title, Serena Williams showed us that she is still the best player in the world and the player who every woman on tour must go through in order to win a grand slam. In addition, Serena displayed great sportsmanship and appeared to be genuinely happy for Angelique Kerber.
I think that while Serena Williams still wants to win more slams, she knows that she has solidified her place as the greatest female tennis player ever. So at this point, every time she gets to compete in a grand slam, I think she's just grateful to be out there and still able to be the best at what she does. She isn't done winning grand slams by any means, but she is a human being and can't win them all. Look for her to make serious noise in Paris.
#5. Hello, Johanna Konta: Until the 2016 Australian Open, the furthest that the 24 years old British/Australian had gone in a grand slam was the 4th round of the 2015 US Open. In the 2016 Australian Open, Konta had a breakthrough tournament, reaching the semifinals before losing to Angelique Kerber. What's crazy is that after her run to the semifinals, her ranking shot up to 95 in the world! Yeah, she was so low in the rankings that a semifinal run to a grand slam made her barely crack the top 100!
Anyways, considering her 4th round run at the US Open and her semifinal run at the Australian Open, I would say that Johanna Konta is certainly trending upward at the moment. It'll be interesting to see how she does on the clay at Roland Garros and the grass at Wimbledon before returning to the hard courts in New York.
#6. Serena Williams seriously owns Maria Sharapova: Maria Sharapova was on a roll until she met Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. Serena won easily by a score of 6-4, 6-1. It's kind of crazy how much Serena Williams just owns Maria Sharapova. It's almost like Serena Williams has a personal vendetta against Maria Sharapova ever since she lost to her in the 2004 Wimbledon final.
#7. Maybe Milos Raonic is on the verge of breaking through: Milos Raonic had a great two weeks in Melbourne, reaching the semifinals before losing to Andy Murray. It was just the second time he had reached a grand slam seminal (2014 Wimbledon) and what was even better was that he took Andy Murray to a 5th set. Perhaps Milos Raonic is finally scratching the surface of what he can do and we'll see him in grand slam final later this year.
Note: For your amusement, click here to watch Milos Raonic dunk a basketball at the 2016 NBA All-Star Celebrity game in Toronto.
#8. Victoria Azarenka is on her way back: Victoria Azarenka lost in the quarterfinals to Angelique Kerber, but the fact that she got to the quarterfinals is a huge step in the right direction for Vika. She has been successful at the Australian Open, winning the title back-to-back years in 2012 and 2013. For her to get off to a strong start in 2016 is definitely encouraging. Hopefully she can build on this and make an even deeper run at Wimbledon and the US Open. She isn't really a clay player, so an early exit at Roland Garros wouldn't be a setback for her at all.
#9. Eugenie Bouchard has work to do: A second round exit to the 4th overall seed Agnieszka Radwanska was expected but all the same discouraging for a player who very recently appeared to be on the verge of winning a grand slam. Eugenie Bouchard has the talent to win a grand slam in future seasons, but right now, she has to get her mind right and put herself back in a position where she can compete for grand slams. She was ranked as high as #5 in the world in October of 2014, so she definitely can get back, but it will require her to buckle down and really focus.
#10. Andy Murray can't get it done down under: Andy Murray has a lot of good things happening in his life. He's a husband and now a father in addition to a two-time grand slam champion and an Olympic gold medal winner. However, winning the Australian Open title is not one of the good things to happen in Andy Murray's life. He has now reached the Australian Open final 5 times only to lose in the final 5 times. No player in the history of tennis has been to the final of a particular grand slam more times without winning it. He's sort of the Buffalo Bills of the Australian Open. Anyways, look for Andy Murray to contend at grand slams this year, but it's possible that so long as Novak Djokovic is around, an Australian Open title will always elude the Scotsman.
Conclusion: The 2016 Australian Open had a lot of exciting moments and interesting results. We saw Novak Djokovic continue his dominance and Angelique Kerber win her first grand slam title. In addition, we saw Johanna Konta breakthrough and Milos Raonic have a possible breakthrough of his own. It'll be interesting to see what the future grand slams hold for us this year. Look for my preview of Roland Garros to come the Friday before the tournament starts, which will be May 13.
