Published 17:45 IST, December 24th 2020
Tennis 2020 review: Nadal's 13th French Open win, Federer's injury headline curtailed year
Tennis 2020 review: It was a year of ups and downs for the sport, but the game weathered the storm and returned with a short but action-packed season.
2020 has indeed been a different and difficult year for tennis, but like all sports, the game has weathered the storm. The pandemic saw the Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War 2, while the French Open was postponed and scheduled after the US Open. A host of tours were altogether cancelled, and fans were disallowed from the tournaments that were held as the world dealt with the global health crisis. Here's a look at the year of tennis, where the Rafael Nadal French Open romance blossomed again, while Novak Djokovic earned him a section of haters for his antics.
Tennis 2020: Djokovic defends Australian Open title, beats Dominic Thiem
Novak Djokovic successfully defended his Australian Open title earlier this year, beating up and coming star Dominic Thiem in the final. The Australian Open win was his 17th Grand Slam title and his eight in Melbourne, as he closed the gap on Roger Federer's 20 Grand Slams. The Serbian ace defeated his Swiss counterpart in the semi-finals, who earlier in round three became the first player to win 100 matches at the Grand Slam. Djokovic's opponent Dominic Thiem surprised one and all with his skills as he reached his third Grand Slam final.
The Austrian defeated Rafael Nadal in the quarter-final, before seeing off fellow next-gen star Alexander Zverev in the semi-final. The 27-year-old matched Djokovic blow to blow in the final, before eventually losing in the final set of an enthralling clash. Djokovic's win was also the first time that the World No.1 came back to win in a Grand Slam final after trailing two sets to one, having lost each of the last seven times this had happened.
Tennis 2020: Pandemic strikes, Wimbledon called off and the Adria Tour fiasco
The outbreak of the global pandemic meant that the tennis calendar was called off for the better part of five months. The French Open was postponed to September while the Wimbledon Championships, which was scheduled to be played in June-July, was completely called off for the first time since the Second World War. The All England Club exercised an insurance plan covering infectious diseases, reportedly claiming over £100 million for the cancellation of which £10m was distributed to the 620 players who could have made a cut at the tournament.
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Brief attempts were made to resume tennis in the midst of the pandemic, but Adria Tour highlighted risks of such a venture. The tournament was held in Belgrade, Serbia and Zadar and organise by World No.1 Novak Djokovic. The tour was a complete fiasco with crowds allowed in full, with no social distancing measures practised. The event was abandoned subsequently after Grigor Dimitrov, one of the marquee players, tested COVID-19 positive. Days later, Borna Ćorić and Djokovic himself announced that they had also contracted the virus.
Tennis resumes: With Novak Djokovic disqualified, Dominic Thiem seizes his chance at the US Open
The US Open 2020 had a lot of firsts as it was the first Grand Slam to be played after the COVID-19 pandemic. Fans were not allowed in the arena, while Rafael Nadal opted out of the tournament due to safety concerns. Following his Australian Open semi-final defeat, Roger Federer battled his injury problems and underwent another surgery, ruling him out of the US Open, the French Open and the subsequent ATP Tour Finals. Djokovic, however, was disqualified from the tournament during his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreño Busta. The Serbian ace hit a ball towards the baseline after being broken to trail 6–5 in the first set which hit a lineswoman in the throat.
With Novak Djokovic disqualified, the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament since the 2004 French Open to not feature the 'Big 3' in the semifinals. Dominic Thiem who was the beaten Australian Open finalist, defeated Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final, before seeing the back of Alexander Zverev in the final after yet another five-set thriller. The 27-year-old became the first player to win the US Open from two sets down in the Open Era, while the first since Pancho Gonzales' 2004 French Open. Thiem was also the first player born in the 90s to win a Grand Slam, and the first new Grand Slam champion since the 2016 US Open.
Rafael Nadal French Open run continues, as King of Clay equals Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal continued his domination of the French Open after he defeated Novak Djokovic in the final. The win was Nadal's 13th win at the Roland Garros, and his 20th Grand Slam title equalling Federer's record for the most major titles in men's singles history. Nadal faced off against Diego Schwartzman in the semi-final in straight sets to set up a meeting with Djokovic, who defeated Stefano Tsitsipas in his semi-final. The Serbian was no match for the King of Clay, as Nadal registered a straight-sets win in the final to lift the trophy. Nadal also became the first player to win 100 matches at the French Open and only the second male player, after Federer at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, to win 100 matches at a single Grand Slam tournament.
(Image Courtesy: Roland Garros, Roger Federer Instagram)
Updated 17:45 IST, December 24th 2020