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Tennis has historically been about the world in one cohort and Canadians in another. In 2019, as never before, the twain met.
Bianca Andreescu was the U.S. Open champion. Denis Shapovalov claimed his first ATP Tour title. Felix Auger-Aliassime made a splashy debut on the circuit. A pair of teenagers and a 20-year-old.
So it would be fair to cross-reference any of the Next Gen hotties from north of the 49th parallel with their boldface global fellow travellers. They are till light miles from the firmament of tennis legends, of course, but setting course for that galaxy.
Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime are among the top 20 seeds for the 2020 Australian Open, which kicks off the Slam calendar with its 108th edition on Monday. A bit of flashback context: Twelve months ago, Auger-Aliassime, the six-foot-four string bean from Montreal, was losing in the second round of quallies Down Under. This is his third consecutive main draw Grand Slam.
Of course, Andreescu, ranked fifth in the world, would have been there as well, had she not been waylaid by a knee injury suffered late last year that’s still being rehabbed. The 19-year-old has contended with multiple bodily breakdowns in her nascent career and the prudent decision was to pass on Melbourne.
Milos Raonic, endlessly mending some infirmity or other, is seeded No. 32 and Vasek Pospisil has a protected ranking of No. 73.
The question on which the tennis world is turning, however, is whether a new decade will continue to revolve around the enduring legends of the game. Short answer for the immediate future: Yup. Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, both seven time Aussie Open champions, are odds-on favourites to add more hardware to their collection.
Certainly the 38-year-old Williams looked in fine form in Auckland last week, lifting her first winner’s trophy since giving birth to her daughter in 2017. “Oh, it feels good. It’s been a long time. I think you could see the relief on my face.”
Defending champion Djokovic, fresh off leading Serbia to the inaugural ATP Cup, arrives in Melbourne as World No. 2 and the second seed. A year ago, he demolished Rafael Nadal in straight sets — and the Spaniard hadn’t dropped a single set in the tournament.
“That was probably the best performance I had in the final of a Grand Slam in my career,’’ Djokovic boasted after this year’s draw.
But Nadal, despite historically struggling against Djokovic — the latter has prevailed in their past nine encounters on hard courts — is World No. 1 at the moment and seeking revenge. The two of them split the four Grand Slams in 2019.
And the big three — Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer — seem disinclined to let down their Slam guard against the Next Gen brightest lights, who mostly just keep knock-knock-knocking on the door. From among the younger brood, Dominic Thiem has managed a couple of Roland Garros finals against Nadal and Daniil Medvedev took him to an epic fifth set in the U.S. Open decider.
Not that it gets tiresome or anything but the last 12 Slams have been claimed by one of the omnipotent troika. They’ve captured 13 of the last 14 Australian Opens, with only Stan Wawrinka interrupting the streak in 2014. At 32, Djokovic is nudging toward the stupendous glut of major triumphs racked up by Nadal and Federer: 19 for the former, 20 for the latter. Djokovic is at 17.
The top two seeds are projected to meet in the final on Feb. 2, although that’s hardly writ in stone. The 20-something bunch have been getting closer to knocking off their legendary elders. Medvedev, seeded fourth behind Federer, is certainly capable, as is Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, 21, who showed his mettle by becoming the ATP Cup inaugural champion in November, beating Thiem.
Alexander Zverev, who had been viewed as the logical successor to the Big Three, has been going through the worst period of his career over the past month, dropping all three matches in the ATP Cup (including a loss to Shapovalov). He was further angered by Aussie bad boy Nick Kyrgios doing pushups in the team zone every time the German service a double fault. Zverev attempted to shrug it off disdainfully afterward. “It’s Nick. It’s just what he does.” But some have already (prematurely) written off the World No. 7.
Only Nadal approaches Federer in public adoration. The 38-year-old Federer Express took some cheeky swipes at journalists in his pre-tournament press conference, which was dominated by questions about bush fires raging in Australia and complaints by lower seeded athletes that they’d been forced to play qualifiers in “hazardous conditions.” While not among the also-rans, Shapovalov was among those who was critical of the Open’s authorities’ air quality assurances. “I don’t want to risk my life, risk my health, being out there playing in those conditions.’’
Having enough of that conversation, Federer offered: “And I’m playing Steve Johnson, for those who care. That’s why I’m in Australia.”
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When a reporter finally turned to the tennis subject at hand, Federer feigned wounded feelings: “I’m not in the mood now. You’ve had enough of my time.”
He was kidding, of course. The Australian fire disaster is no joking matter and Federer has already pledged $172,000 (U.S.0 toward fire relief efforts. Several other players have also made hefty donations.
On the women’s side, eighth seeded Serena Williams is still gunning for her record-equalling 24th major championship, which has become a no-go topic of discussion. Youth has been well served while the American has faltered in the late innings clutch. Three of the 2019 majors were claimed by women aged 23 or under. The past 11 majors have produced nine different winners and, during that stretch, seven players have held the world No. 1 ranking, currently in the possession of Ash Barty.
The 23-year-old top seed will have both the motivation and pressure of playing in her home country, on what is the 50th anniversary of Margaret Court’s calendar Slam. No Australian female has won at Melbourne Park in 42 years.
World No. 2 Karolina Pliskova enters the tournament on a roll, having just won the Brisbane title for the third successive year. Yet there are still doubts that the lanky Czech has the mental fortitude to finally deliver a majors victory.
Naomi Osaka is the defending champion but lost her top ranking before a disappointing performance in her U.S. Open title defence. The 22-year-old began 2019 by winning her second straight Slam in Melbourne and then suffered early exits at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. “Honestly, last year was the toughest year of my life,” Osaka admitted at her press conference Saturday. “So I would hope it gets better.”
Frankly, any of the top eight seeds are entirely capable of mining silver down under. Simona Halep, the Wimbledon champion, has proven she can play fast courts after overcoming collapses of nerve in Slam finals, with two titles on her resumé. But the 29-year-old Romanian told reporters on the weekend that her priority this year is the Tokyo Olympics. “I really want a medal. Doesn’t matter which one or when — singles, doubles, mixed. I just want one.”
A blockbuster first round match pits 15-year-old American sensation Coco Gauff against 39-year-old compatriot Venus Williams.
An intriguing storyline is the improbable comeback of Kim Clijsters at age 36 after quitting tennis seven years ago. The four-time Slam champion and former World No. 1 is a mother of three but the kids are in school now. “Some people think I’m mad but to me it feels fine. Something got triggered and I’m following that emotion. I wouldn’t be able to do it if I felt I was pushing myself. I have to believe I can do it.”
Doubtless there will be overwhelming sentiment and emotion as well as Caroline Wozniacki steps on a competitive court for the last time. The 29-year-old Dane announced before Christmas that she would retire after the Australian Open.
“I love the sport, I love everything it’s given me, I love being out there and competing. But I’m ready to start a new chapter in my life. Life is short.”
Rosie DiManno is a columnist based in Toronto covering sports and current affairs. Follow her on Twitter: @rdimanno
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