Australian Open 2023 report card: Good, bad and ugly of this year’s tournament
New and old champions were crowned, late nights were had, but what were the moments that defined this year’s Australian Open? Check out our grading here.
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You have to give Craig Tiley some credit he certainly has the Midas touch when it comes to dodging bullets.
Last year the Australian Open boss was in the middle of the Novak Djokovic Covid visa debacle with calls understandably for his head given the murky waters he’d travelled into with his desperate bid to get the world No. 1 to Melbourne Park.
Fortunately for Tiley a trio of Aussies came to his rescue. Ash Barty grabbed the spotlight with her emotional run to the women’s title while the Special Ks, Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis, were the perfect support act in winning the men’s doubles.
That meant by the end of the two weeks, we were all warm and fuzzy about all things to do with the Australian Open and the Djokovic scandal had been pushed into the background to a degree.
This year Tiley is set to once again benefit from what happens on the final two days, papering over some of the cracks.
The women’s final was a brilliant exhibition of power-hitting won by Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, while the Djokovic-Stefanos Tsistipas match-up is the only final which was going to save him and prop up the 2023 Open’s scorecard.
PASS MARK
THE VIBE
You can’t say TA hasn’t tapped into the younger generation. Some nights it was like a music festival with a mixture of good tunes and a bit of tennis on the big screens keeping the punters happy. The set-up around Melbourne Park is brilliant with fun times able to had even if you’re not sitting in centre court.
DOUBLES DELIGHT
Whoever thought we’d care that much about doubles again? The Woodies captured us 30 years ago but there hasn’t been an eyebrow raised since until the Special Ks did their thing last year. And now another young Aussie team has done the same with Jason Kubler and Rinky Hijikata coming from nowhere – it was their first time as a pairing – to claim the title.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
The tennis world has been waiting for it and there is enough evidence to suggest a quality underbelly ready to rise up. The American Revolution was impressive led by semi-finalist Tommy Paul, Sebastian Korda and Ben Shelton but Danish teenager Holger Rune is the one who looks the most likely to be the next big thing. And on the women‘s side Sabalenka is only 24 while her finals opponent Elena Rybakina is 23 and already a grand slam champion.
COVERING ALL BASES
You can’t say TA aren’t across what’s happening in society. Give them an issue and they do a wonderful job of promoting it throughout the tournament. There was First Nations Day and Pride Day, which included the Glam Slam, while the legends of the past were honoured respectfully.
FAIL
LATE NIGHTS
Finishing games at 4am is insane. Having two matches scheduled on Rod Laver Arena at night is a risk but there has to be a mechanism to act if its obvious a long night is on the cards particularly in the second week. Victoria Azarenka finished her fourth-round match at 2.17am after going on centre court after a five-set men’s marathon. With Margaret Court Arena vacant next door why couldn’t the women’s match be switched there at 10.30pm with the crowd given an option to switch stadiums.
POLITICAL FARCE
The Russian flag being flown at Melbourne Park was a major blunder but then to have Novak Djokovic’s father celebrating with fans who were wearing T-shirts with Vladimir Putin’s face on them was a disaster. The weak response by TA to the Djokovic camp was a disappointment, he had to be booted out of the Open for such a blatant misjudgment even if he claims it was a mistake.
CHANNEL NINE’S COVERAGE
They were never going to be able to get the numbers of last year but 40 per cent less viewers is not a great stat. Apart from Jim Courier, Jelena Dokic and Casey Dellacqua, the commentary team seemed to be lacking some pazzaz. No John McEnroe was an error.
DEMON HYPE
Unfortunately for Alex de Minaur he ran into a red-hot Djokovic in the fourth round who had a chip on his shoulder about something the Aussie said 12 months earlier during the Covid visa debacle. De Minaur didn‘t handle the occasion, his lack of weapons against the best players exposed while he then blamed the media for misrepresenting him. Not his best week.
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Originally published as Australian Open 2023 report card: Good, bad and ugly of this year’s tournament