5 Things We Learned At The Aussie Open
5 Things We Learned At The Aussie Open
(1) Federer Cements Grand Slam Legacy
For many years, winning 20 major titles seemed like an impossible feat. The longevity needed in a player’s career and the consistency at such a high level would be nothing short of astonishing. Enter Roger Federer.
On Sunday, the Swiss secured an unprecedented 20th Grand Slam trophy with a five-set victory over Marin Cilic, tying Ken Rosewall’s record of three major titles won at the age of 35 and over. Moreover, Federer’s sixth Australian Open victory pulls him level with Novak Djokovic and Roy Emerson atop the all-time titles list Down Under.
Now four major titles clear of Rafael Nadal and six ahead of third-placed Pete Sampras, Federer continues to separate himself from the rest of the pack. After concluding his 2017 campaign at No. 2 in the ATP Rankings, could a return to the top spot be on the horizon? It will be one of the must-see storylines on the ATP World Tour in 2018.
“I’m so happy, it’s unbelievable,” said an emotional Federer following the final. “I’m happy it’s over now. It’s a dream come true and the fairy-tale continues. After the year I had last year, it’s incredible.”
(2) Unseeded Stars Steal The Spotlight
For the first time since 1999, two unseeded players featured in the Australian Open semi-finals. Rising talents Hyeon Chung and Kyle Edmund proved themselves on one of the game’s biggest stages, as the 21-year-old Korean and the 23-year-old Brit battled into the last four in Melbourne.
Chung, the champion at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, carried the momentum to 2018 with back-to-back upsets of fourth seed Alexander Zverev and six-time champion Novak Djokovic. Edmund also scored his first Top 10 victory, following up a pair of five-set wins with a stunning triumph over World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals. Both are up to career-highs in the Top 30 and are ones to watch on the ATP World Tour in 2018.
World No. 97 Tennys Sandgren and 80th-ranked Marton Fucsovics also sent shockwaves throughout Melbourne Park in reaching the quarter-finals and Round of 16, respectively. It was their deepest runs at a Grand Slam tournament. Sandgren stunned fifth-seed Dominic Thiem in five thrilling sets, having entered the fortnight with just two tour-level wins in his career. One of the biggest performers on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2017, the American is projected to rise to a career-high of No. 55 after sitting at No. 198 a year ago.
Notable Upsets – 2018 Australian Open
| Result | Round |
| No. 97 Tennys Sandgren d. No. 5 Dominic Thiem | Round of 16 |
| No. 49 Kyle Edmund d. No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov | Quarter-finals |
| No. 58 Hyeon Chung d. No. 4 Alexander Zverev | Third Round |
| No. 59 Julien Benneteau d. No. 7 David Goffin | Second Round |
| No. 80 Marton Fucsovics d. No. 13 Sam Querrey | Second Round |
| No. 78 Matthew Ebden d. No. 16 John Isner | First Round |
| No. 97 Tennys Sandgren d. No. 8 Stan Wawrinka | Second Round |
(3) Cilic Continues Clutch Play On The Big Stages
On Monday, there will be a signficant shift among the Top 5 in the ATP Rankings. Rafael Nadal remains at No. 1, Roger Federer stays at No. 2, but the new World No. 3 will be Marin Cilic. Rising three spots to a new career-high, Croatia’s longtime stalwart is peaking at the age of 29.
Cilic has now appeared in a Grand Slam final or lifted an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy in four of the past five years. Champion at the 2014 US Open and 2016 Western & Southern Open and the runner-up at Wimbledon last year, he has cemented himself as a threat to contend for any title.
Cilic dropped just one set in reaching the second week in Melbourne, where he stopped 10th seed Pablo Carreno Busta in four, outlasted top seed Rafael Nadal and dismissed a surging Kyle Edmund. He came up just short of capturing his second major crown, but, having now appeared in two of the past three Grand Slam finals, the big-hitting Croatian has put the rest of the ATP World Tour on notice.
(4) Kyrgios Continues His Climb
For the first time since 2015, top Aussie Nick Kyrgios advanced to the second week of his home Grand Slam. But this was much different. Now, at the age of 22, the Canberra native is greatly maturing with every tournament and he would battle into the Round of 16 behind an impressive and poised performance against former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Kyrgios dropped a gripping four-set encounter against third-seed Grigor Dimitrov under the lights on Rod Laver Arena. The margins were razor thin, as Dimitrov claimed a trio of tie-breaks in the three-hour and 26-minute affair.
“I lost tonight to one of the best players in the world,” said Kyrgios. “I went down swinging. Obviously, I feel a lot better this time around. Last year I really didn’t know what I was going to do after the Australian Open last year. I feel like I have more of a vision and goal for this year. I think I’m in a good headspace.”
The Aussie faithful weren’t the only fans attending his matches at Melbourne Park. Actor Will Smith came out to enjoy his meeting with Tsonga, sitting courtside to see tennis’ Fresh Prince battle to victory.
Other Aussies finding success at their home Grand Slam included John Millman and Matthew Ebden, who scored first-round upsets in their comebacks from injury. Millman stopped Borna Coric, while Ebden stunned John Isner in a rematch of the 2017 Newport final. Also, teenager Alex de Minaur took a set off eventual quarter-finalist Tomas Berdych, capping a stellar Aussie swing that also included a semi-final finish in Brisbane and runner-up result in Sydney.
Learn About Kyrgios’ Charity Work
(5) Marach/Pavic Complete History-Making Month
Two months after enjoying a taste of the Nitto ATP Finals as alternates, Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic are well on their way to qualifying for the season finale for the first time.
The Austrian-Croatian partners celebrated their maiden Grand Slam championship on Saturday in Melbourne, capping a fortnight which saw them claw to the title. Their quarter-final and semi-final victories came in deciding tie-breaks, before ousting 11th seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 6-4, 6-4 in the title match.
Marach and Pavic made history with their triumph Down Under, becoming the first team to win three titles in the month of January in the Open Era. They kicked off their 2018 campaign with victories at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha and the ASB Classic in Auckland, before lifting the trophy in Melbourne.
In addition, Marach became the first player from Austria to win the Australian Open title – singles or doubles – while Pavic achieved the same feat for his native Croatia.
