European players dominated the first Grand Slam of the season, walking away with all but one of the professional and junior titles.
Stanislas Wawrinka made the biggest breakthrough, scoring his first ever win over Rafael Nadal to lift his maiden Grand Slam title after a drama-filled match under the lights of the Rod Laver Arena. Most pundits had given the Swiss player scant chance of victory before the match but the 28-year old began the final in aggressive style and quickly took a set from the world #1 for the first time in their 13 matches. He then broke for a 2-0 lead in the second set before the Spaniard took an injury time out to deal with back pain. With Nadal’s movement clearly inhibited, Wawrinka broke again for a two-set lead before appearing to lose focus, allowing Rafa to snatch the third set as painkillers kicked in.
Wawrinka regained his composure and intensity in the fourth set, breaking Nadal with ease in eighth game before serving out confidently to secure the biggest win of his career. He later paid tribute to coach Magnus Norman, explaining that winning a Grand Slam had previously been “…just a dream. I never expected to play a final. I never expected to win a Grand Slam. And right now I just did it. It's for me a big surprise to play that well…that shows me I'm doing the right thing since many years. That if you practice well, if you work hard, you will always have a chance to be in a great position to play your best tennis.”
The victory was just one of a number of new milestones reached in the career of Wawrinka. Having ended Novak Djokovic’c three-year run as champion in the quarterfinal, he became the first player in 20 years to beat the top two seeds at a Grand Slam and the first player ever to beat both Djokovic and Nadal at the same event. He now rises to #3 in the world rankings, ending Roger Federer’s 13-year stint as Swiss #1.
A day earlier, Li Na had ensured that at least one of the trophies would not return to Europe this year, becoming the first ever Asian winner of the ‘Asia-Pacific Slam’. Playing in her third final, Li was in the position of favourite for the first time as she faced 20th seed Dominika Cibulkova, and the pressure showed during a tense first set that last over an hour. But once the Chinese player established her authority in the tie break she never looked back, racing through the second set without the loss of a game to seal her second Grand Slam title and rise to world #3. A popular winner, she had the crowd on its feet long after the end of the match thanks to one of the most entertaining victory speeches the sport has ever seen.
For her part, Cibulkova’s performance also represented a breakthrough. She beat four seeds en route to her first Grand Slam final (the first for any Slovakian player in singles), including third seed Maria Sharapova in the fourth round and #5 Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals, and now stands on the edge of the Top Ten.
Top seeds Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci retained their women’s doubles title in style, fighting back from 2-5 in the third set of the final against Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina (RUS). The Italians had been pushed to three sets in several of the matches and played at the Australian Open knowing that only a victory would enable them to retain their #1 ranking, but rose to the challenge.
The men’s doubles event was characterised by a series of stunning upsets, with many of the pre-tournament favourites having made their exit by the third round of the competition. Two of the teams most responsible for those upsets emerged to face each other in the final, as the Bryan brothers’ unseeded conquerors Eric Butorac (USA) & Raven Klaasen (RSA) took on 14th seeds Lukas Kubot (POL) & Robert Lindstedt (SWE). Amid emotional scenes (and a spot of traditional Polish folk dancing), the seeded pair scored a 6-3 6-3 win that brought an end to 36-year old Lindstedt’s run of defeats in his previous three Grand Slam finals, and marked a first Slam victory for both players.
The mixed doubles title went to reigning Wimbledon champions Kristina Mladenovic of France and Daniel Nestor of Canada, who swept aside the challenge of Sania Mirza (IND) & Horia Tecau (ROU) in under an hour. Their second Grand Slam title together was also the fourth of 41-year old Nestor’s career.
Both junior singles saw first-time Slam winners add their names to the roll of honour. Germany’s Alexander Zverev continued his smooth progression through the junior ranks to take the boys’ title. Having been ranked as the European 14 & under #2 throughout 2011 and ending last year as the 16 & Under #1, he took the next step with a comfortable win over American Stefan Kozlov in the final, losing just three games.
Russia’s Elizaveta Kulichova enjoyed a similarly one-sided win over Jana Fett of Croatia in the girl’s final. The victory came a day after she had teamed up with Anhelina Kalinina (UKR) to beat Katie Boulter (GBR) and Ivana Jorovic (SRB) to win the doubles title, and she keeps alive a four-year streak of players winning both the girls’ titles in the same year.
Home player Bradley Mousley managed the rare feat of defending a junior Slam title. This time he teamed up with one of the players that he beat in last year’s final – 2012 European 16 & Under Champion Lucas Miedler (AUT) – and they scored a straight sets win over French pair Quentin Halys & Johan Sebastien Tatlot.
Whether 2014 will turn out to represent a changing of the guard at the top of the game remains to be seen. While last year saw the top seeds win all singles and doubles titles in Melbourne, early losses for defending champions Victoria Azarenka and Novak Djokovic raise questions about their hopes to return to #1 this season. Serena William´s early loss will also sting, but the American holds a 6,500-point lead at the top of the rankings, the same difference as exists between Azarenka and the world #279, so she won’t be too concerned. Meanwhile Rafael Nadal remains comfortably in the men’s top spot but will soon have to start defending points earned in his phenomenal return to the game early last year. With a fully recovered Andy Murray back on tour and a revitalised Roger Federer sure to be looking to reclaim his Swiss #1 spot, the next few months on tour are looking more unpredictable than ever.
2014 Australian Open Roll of Honour
Men’s Singles
(8) Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) d. (1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) 63 62 36 63
Men’s Doubles
(14) Kubot (POL)/Lindstedt (SWE) d. Butorac (USA)/Klaasen (RSA) 63 63
Women’s Singles
(4) Na Li (CHN) d. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 76(3) 60
Women’s Doubles
(1) Errani/Vinci (ITA) d. (3) Makarova/Vesnina (RUS) 64 36 75
Mixed Doubles
Mladenovic (FRA)/Nestor (CAN) d. (6) Mirza (IND)/Tecau (ROU) 63 62
Boys’ Singles
(1) Alexander Zverev (GER) d. (2) Stefan Kozlov (USA) 63 60
Boys' Doubles
Miedler (AUT)/Mousley (AUS) d. Halys/Tatlot (FRA) 64 63
Girls’ Singles
(4) Elizaveta Kulichova (RUS) d. Jana Fett (CRO) 62 61
Girls’ Doubles
(1) Kalinina (UKR)/Kulichova (RUS) d. Boulter (GBR)/Jorovic (SRB) 64 62
Men’s Wheelchair Singles
(2) Shingo Kuneida (JPN) d. Gustavo Fernandez (ARG) 60 61
Women’s Wheelchair Singles
(1) Sabine Ellerbrock (GER) d. Yui Kamiji (JPN) 36 64 62
Men’s Wheelchair Doubles
(1) Houdet (FRA)/Kuneida (JPN) d. (2) Reid (GBR)/Scheffers (NED) 63 63
Women’s Wheelchair Doubles
(1) Kamiji (JPN)/Whiley (GBR) d. Buis/Griffoen (NED) 62 67(3) 62
Quad Wheelchair Singles
(1) David Wagner (USA) d. (2) Lucas Sithole (RSA) 36 75 63
Quad Wheelchair Doubles
(1) Lapthorne (GBR)/Wagner (USA) d. Alcott (AUS)/Sithole (RSA) 64 64