TENNIS

The Continued Dominance of Djokovic and Świątek

The Serb showed no signs of slowing down while the Pole further bolstered her credential as the first among equals.

Novak Djokovic during a practice session [Photograph Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons]

It’s a year where men’s tennis witnessed Novak Djokovic make further additions to the record books even as Iga Świątek bolstered her standing as first among equals in the women’s category.

A 6–3, 7–6(4), 7–6(5) win over Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece helped Djokovic start the year with a bang, with a record-extending tenth Australian Open title. The Serb then won his third French Open title with a comprehensive 7–6 (1), 6–3, 7–5 win over Norway’s Casper Ruud.

While he failed to defend his title at the All England Club, it was a final for ages. Carlos Alcaraz recovered from losing the opening set, and survived a fourth set comeback by Djokovic, to eventually win 1–6, 7–6 (6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4 in a match that lasted four hours and 42 minutes. The defeat saw the Serb’s hopes of a calendar year Grand Slam go up in smoke.

However, he rebounded from the disappointment by winning the US Open. A 6–3, 7–6 (5), 6–3 win over Daniil Medvedev not only made Djokovic, at 36, the oldest man in the Open Era to win in New York but also helped the player enter the tennis history books…