All the highs and lows from the Australian Open as Rafael Nadal makes it a Grand Slam to remember

The joy of five sets

At a time when attention spans are shortening, there were reminders that best-of-five-set matches are still a platform for individual greatness. 

The men’s final was the prime example and, clearly, the match of the tournament. 

Daniil Medvedev versus Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals would have been a strong contender otherwise.

Tiley Rescued from Djokovic fiasco

Tournament director Craig Tiley and others at Tennis Australia have reason to be grateful to the players who made it such a memorable finals weekend. 

The performances of Rafael Nadal, Ash Barty and others meant that the event can be remembered for something other than court cases and deportations. Quite a turnaround from two weekends before.

A great all-rounder

Barty showed she is a player for all surfaces — Serena Williams is the only other active female player to have won Grand Slams across grass, clay and hard courts. 

The Queenslander is capable of winning many more Slams, but her balanced outlook on life makes you wonder if she is the type to plough on and on.

Quotes of the tournament

An unusual number of contenders were thrown up from the fortnight, and there was a prime candidate dating to before it even began, coming from Srdjan Djokovic, father of Novak (right): ‘Jesus was crucified on the cross, but he is still alive among us. They are trying to crucify and belittle Novak and throw him to his knees.’

New Zealander Michael Venus spoke for some of his fellow players when he gave his verdict on Nick Kyrgios: ‘He’s an absolute knob, with the maturity of a 10-year-old.’

Most irritating accompaniment

The Melbourne crowd did not always cover itself in glory (is it coming out of lockdown that is having an effect on sporting crowds?). 

The tiresome ‘Siuuu’ noise became the new Vuvuzela. Medvedev had it about right when saying: ‘It’s not everybody who’s doing it, but those who are doing it probably have a low IQ.’

A star supporting cast

It was not just the champions who further enhanced their reputations over the fortnight. Medvedev showed again that he is a genuinely interesting character, and not just a great player. 

The story of women’s finalist Danielle Collins overcoming endometriosis to achieve her potential was uplifting. Auger-Aliassime is a rising star whose time is coming.

 No Brit glory this time

After Emma Raducanu’s heroics in New York there was a contrastingly flat performance from the British contingent. 

Raducanu was hampered by blisters this time and, like Cam Norrie, has some adjusting to do this year. Dan Evans was the only Brit to make the singles third round, and had a walkover in the second. 

For Andy Murray it was another case of one step forward, one step back, slumping after his encouraging first-round win.

They love a clampdown in Australia

As regular visitors will attest, there is a deep-seated streak of authoritarianism about modern Australia, which had a light shone on it. 

Doubles player Renata Voracova was brutally sought out and expelled from the country, having already been allowed in to play a tournament. 

Separately, one of the unforced errors from Tennis Australia was to initially outlaw ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ T-shirts before reversing the decision after a storm of protest.

Lingering questions

There are still many known unknowns about the Djokovic affair, which need resolving. 

For instance what happened with his positive test on December 16? Why did he miss the documentation deadline of December 10? What did Tennis Australia tell him throughout the whole murky process?