Rafa Nadal mounted an epic comeback from a two-set-to-love deficit to earn his 21st major title, while local hero Ashleigh Barty solidified her spot atop the rankings by winning her third Slam, ending a 44-year wait for an Australian winner. Barty is now three from three in major finals, while it was Nadal’s 29th appearance in a major final and he now joins Djokovic as being the only man to have won each Grand Slam at least twice.
MEN
With four runner-up trophies from Melbourne, the Australian Open has been the scene of some of Nadal’s most disappointing losses in the past. Missing the chance to level the match against Daniil Medvedev at a set all in the second set did not deter the Spaniard as he made a spirited comeback. With the crowd backing him throughout the five-and-a-half-hour grind, Nadal turned back the clock to recover from two sets down for the first time in 12 years, eventually sealing his second Australian Open title 2-6 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4 7-5. After the match Rafa thanked the crowd and added “A month and a half ago I didn’t know if I would be here. This is going to stay in my heart for the rest of my life.” The win also sees him break free of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic triumvirate, breaking the 20-20-20 Slam deadlock to inch ahead of his rivals for the first time in his career.
WOMEN
Barty, for her part, was utterly dominant as she tamed all of those in her path with deft, artistic and tactically perfect play. The four power-hitting Americans she beat on route to a maiden home slam had no answer to her all-court game. In the final she outdid Danielle Collins (USA), mounting a spectacular second set comeback from 1-5 down to celebrate before a roaring Rod Laver Arena. Her 6-3 7-6(2) wins means Barty becomes one of just two active players (along with Serena Williams) to win a major on all three surfaces.
DOUBLES
European teams claimed two of the three doubles titles. Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) & Ivan Dodig (CRO) won the mixed doubles, recording an eighth and fifth Slam title respectively, and first together. The ever-strong and seemingly unstoppable Czech pairing of world number ones Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova added another trophy to their cabinets by winning the women’s doubles. Finally, crowd favourites Thanasi Kokkinakis & Nick Kyrgios claimed the men’s doubles trophy in an all-Australian men’s doubles final.
JUNIORS
The junior events saw some memorable performances from the most promising European youngsters. Petra Marcinko of Croatia was crowned girls’ singles champion after defeating Sofia Costoulas (BEL) 7-5 6-1 in the final.
In 2019 Marcinko (pictured) was the Tennis Europe Junior Masters champion and featured in six other tour finals, winning three. She finished 2019 as the Junior Tour player of the Year, and has now won her biggest title Down Under, adding to her impressive eight-trophy haul on the ITF Junior Tour. The Croat came in as the world #1 and top seed, and lived up to her billing. After a come-from-behind win in the first round against Alexis Blokhina (USA), she breezed past Kayla Cross (CAN), Denislava Glushkova (BUL), and Lola Radivojevic (SRB), before winning another three-setter, this time in the semis over Liv Hovde (USA). Costoulas’ route to the final was filled with difficult obstacles, the toughest battles coming against Europeans Celine Naef (SUI) and Diana Shnaider (RUS), beating both by the skin of her teeth.
Boy’s runner-up Jakub Mensik was another Junior Tour veteran, having played in nine singles and doubles finals, winning five. He booked his spot in the Melbourne final against Bruno Kuzuhara (USA) after a convincing win over Yaroslav Demin (RUS) in the quarters and a hard-fought three-set win against Kilian Feldbausch (SUI) in the semis. The three hour, 45 minute final was a test of endurance and ended up with distressing scenes from Mensik’s team, as the Czech was taken from the court in a wheelchair after suffering severe cramps. An exhausted Kuzuhara claimed his first Junior singles Slam with a 7-6(4) 6-7(6) 7-5 win, the day after wrapping up the boys’ doubles title with Chak Lam Coleman Wong of Hong Kong. The girls’ doubles title went to Clervie Ngounoue (USA) and Diana Shnaider (RUS).
Other notable recent Junior Tour players also scored encouraging results, with Dino Prizmic (CRO), Edas Butvilas (LTU), Constantintos Koshis (CYP) and second seed Mili Poljicak (CRO) all advancing to round 3. The leading European girls fared even better, with 2019 European 14 & Under champion Michaela Laki (GRE) and Carolina Kuhl (GER) making the quarterfinals.