5 things we learned from this year’s Australian Open – Irvine Times

Sinner successfully defended his title and tightened his grip on men’s tennis, while Keys finally fulfilled his teenage promise a month before his 30th birthday.

Here, the PA news agency picks five things we learned from the first Grand Slam of the year.

It’s never too late

At 14, Keys seemed destined to be a Grand Slam champion. At 24, the dream was still very much alive. But at 29, the American has learned to be comfortable with the fact that it may never happen. And then he did. Not only did Keys win the title, she did it by playing gutsy, first-strike tennis and beating Iga Svetek and Aryna Sabalenka in matches that went down to the wire. Her success should be a shot in the arm for other players who feel their chance has been missed.

Murray finds a new role

Regardless of whether Andy Murray continues to work with Novak Djokovic, it seems likely that he will remain as coach. The Scot brought the same diligence he applied to his playing career to this new role and won rave reviews from his former rival. Murray has the humility not to want to do it for him – quite the opposite, in fact – and was a calm, encouraging presence in the coaching box. How much time he wants to devote to coaching so soon after retiring is a big hurdle, though.

Mixed fortunes for the British

Jack Draper and Emma Radukanu produced their best performances at Melbourne Park, reaching the fourth and third rounds respectively. Draper has shown he can fight five-set battles, but at the cost of his troublesome hip, and getting back to full fitness must be the 23-year-old’s priority. Radukanu had two strong wins but was then beaten by Svetek and her serve still needs a lot more work, something that will be more difficult given coach Nick Kavadai’s decision to retire due to health reasons. Jacob Fearnley’s remarkable rise continues and there’s no reason why he can’t push for the top 50 soon, but Katie Boulter needs to find the right recipe to step up on the big stage.

Djokovic is feeling his age

Djokovic’s win over Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals was one of the matches of the tournament and proof that the 37-year-old’s tennis is still more than good enough to win best-of-five sets against his biggest rivals. But the physical aspect is just as important and even Djokovic can’t keep time. Two years ago, he managed to win the tournament despite a torn tendon. This time the pain was too much. The Serbian has openly said he’s only interested in Grand Slams and Davis Cups now, but can his body still handle seven full matches against opponents 15 years his junior? Wimbledon looks to be his best bet from that record 25th Slam title.

The children are coming

Move over Sinner and Alcaraz, there’s a new next gen. The Italian and the Spaniard will almost certainly rack up many more Slam titles, but the up-and-coming teenagers are likely to have a big say in men’s tennis over the next few years. Brazil’s Joao Fonseca – just 18 but with a great game – is the most talked-about talent and he stunned Andrei Rublev, but Czech Jakub Mensik and American Tien, both 19, have progressed further in the tournament. There will be four teenage girls in the ATP top 100 on Monday, compared to just one in the women’s game.