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Australian Open 2022 -- Melbourne
No way "Happy Slam" - or is it !
The players love the tournament Down Under because it is different. They like the family atmosphere of the Australian Open ( AO ), the sports-mad fans and the flair in Melbourne Park, which is only a "kangaroo jump" away from the city. Everyone comes because it's back on after the New Year, with a "Happy New Year." So it happened that the Aussie Open, by Roger Federer's suggestion, was declared the "Happy Slam" among the Grand Slam tournaments.
But then, when a tiny, unknown virus suddenly spread worldwide last year, it was all over for the "Happy Slam." All tennis fans were even locked out completely for five days and the players were locked up in quarantine hotels, which they were only allowed to leave for a few hours each day under the strictest control for the tournament.
Even though the restrictions were not quite as drastic this time, it was again not the usual "Happy Slam." The trouble started even before the tournament began with Novak Djokovic. The defending champion, who had not been vaccinated against Corona, tried by all means, contrary to the rules and laws in Australia, to force an entry and right to play in the Australian Open. It was less about tennis for days, because everything revolved around Djokovic's annoying back-and-forth, until judges of the Supreme Federal Court rightly expelled the Serb.
The absence of the number one did not make the makers of the tournament "happy" at all, because there was a hail of further cancellations by tennis stars. Roger Federer (after 3. Knie operation), Dominik Thiem (wrist), the former world number three Milos Raonic ( Achilles heel), the former world number four Kei Nishikori (hip), Serena and Venus Williams (waiver), 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu (lack of motivation), 2021 AO semifinalist Karoline Muchova (injury), 2021 AO finalist Jennifer Brady (foot), Karolina Pliskova (wrist). In addition, the organizers in Melbourne had to fear for Rafael Nadal, Nick Kyrgios, Belinda Bencic, Ons Jabeur and Emma Raducanu, who had tested positive for Corona shortly before the Australian Open.
For the German players, only three were in the main draw, the tournament was anything but a "Happy Slam." For three-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber (WTA 20), who won her first major title here six years ago, it was over straight away. On her 34th birthday, she suffered a bitter defeat against Estonian Kaia Kanepi (WTA 115). - Andrea Petkovic was totally annoyed by the flat rebuff against 2021 French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova, when she only managed to win two games: "a terrible day for me." - Mother-of-two Tatjana Maria (WTA 287) fought back valiantly against Greece's Maria Sakkari (WTA 8) but without a "happy ending." Thus. for the first time since 1977, no German player was in the second round.
Of eight German players, five made it to the second round, but four were eliminated. Yannick Hanfmann (ATP 126) was not able to do what he had intended, to "at least annoy a little bit" Rafael Nadal, but was praised by the Spaniard. His tennis level today was much higher than his ranking position, he said. - Dominik Koepfer (ATP 53) lost out to the 2.11 meter tall serve specialist Reilly Opelka (ATP 23), whom he had already beaten three times before. - Oscar Otte (ATP 96) won the first set against Lorenzo Sonego (ATP 26), but the Italian was the winner after four sets. - Philipp Kohlschreiber (ATP 134), playing for the 15th time, just made it into the main draw as an alternate for Djokovic and surprisingly won against Marco Cecchinato. But Kohlschreiber was only "happy" for a short time, because after a defeat against Bautista-Agut (ATP 15), when he won only four games in three sets, he felt as if he had played with "two left shoes".
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