Australian Tennis Magazine - October/November 2023

Serving Culture BEYOND THE COURT

US OPEN 2023

NOVAK’S NEW HIGHS COCO CROWNED

FAME GAME CROSSOVER CELEBRITIES

n e e T n e e Qu COCO GAUFF

STARS RISING FRITZ TOWNSEND SABALENKA PURCELL

OCT / NOV 2023 ISSN 1321-0262

11 9 771321 026000

contents OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2023 VOL.48 NO.5

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NOVAK’S NUMBERS GAME With his Grand Slam tally now measurable by the dozen, Novak Djokovic’s astonishing longevity could be his greatest feat yet.

FEATURES 14 TEEN QUEEN

Showcasing courage, conviction and composure alongside her formidable talent, Coco Gauff also shows how sport and culture can powerfully intersect.

18 ALL-AMERICAN SUPERSTAR

With a growing off-court portfolio keeping pace with his ever-improving tennis CV, Taylor Fritz’s rise coincides with an exciting revival in American tennis.

MANAGING EDITOR Vivienne Christie ASSOCIATE EDITOR Leigh Rogers DESIGN Andrea Williamson Daniel Frawley FOUNDING EDITOR Alan Trengove

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COCO BURNS BRIGHT

Long touted as the sport’s next superstar, American teen Coco Gauff delivered on that promise in sensational fashion at US Open 2023.

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PHOTOGRAPHS Getty Images Tennis Australia COVER PHOTO Getty Images COVER PHOTO RETOUCHER Natalie Boccassini

Australian Tennis Magazine is published by TENNIS AUSTRALIA LTD, Private Bag 6060, Richmond, Vic 3121.

Email: editor@tennismag.com.au Distributed by Ovato Printed in Australia by Ive The views expressed in Australian Tennis Magazine are not necessarily those held

by Tennis Australia. While the utmost care is taken in compiling the information contained in this publication, Tennis Australia is not responsible for any loss or injury occurring as a result of any omissions in either the editorial or advertising appearing herein.

30 NEW HIGHS IN NEW YORK

After a career-best performance as a US Open men’s doubles finalist, Matt Ebden has his sights set on becoming the world's No.1 doubles player.

44 THE FAME GAME

Featuring iconic musicians and actors, powerful politicians and decorated athletes, a star-studded US Open crowd showed the game's popular appeal.

46 CROSS-CODE APPEAL

While captivating fans with physical prowess and impressive fortitude, top-ranked tennis players also inspire other athletic greats.

41

STAR POWER Modern players including Naomi Osaka are winning the Fame Game as their celebrity status extends beyond the court.

REGULARS 6 7 10 11

FIRST SERVE FAN ZONE ONE TO WATCH SPOTLIGHT

12 TOP TEN 34 COURTING CONVERSATIONS 53 YOUR GAME

62 70 72 74

AUSSIE WATCH SCOREBOARD RANKINGS LAST WORD

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MAGICAL MOMENTS Past, present and future champions gloriously connected in the sixth edition of the Laver Cup.

FIRST SERVE

t r u o c e th d n o Bey

SERVING CULTURE

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s Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic brought the 2023 Grand Slam season to its thrilling conclusion at the US Open, there was no questioning the star power of the respective champions.

Celebrities including politicians, entertainment icons and other world-class athletes were thrilled with the awe-inspiring tennis they’d witnessed from their A-List seats. The world’s media filled countless pages and channels with feel-good content. Fans revelled in the quality that the US Open titlists had once again infused in the sport with their history-making performances.

For while they were Grand Slam champions, Gauff and Djokovic, were – like many of their colleagues – also significantly more than mere players. With rich and diverse narratives woven into today’s tennis landscape, the celebrity status that’s created on the court also well and truly transcends it.

Still a teenager, Gauff has long understood, and demonstrated, the role model responsibility of her position. From the moment she burst into the world spotlight as a 15-year-old qualifier at 2019 Wimbledon, the American has constantly demonstrated strong personal values alongside her vast sporting talent.

Prioritising education, Gauff has championed equality and spoken bravely and eloquently on important issues. Showing respect, gratitude and a level of self-awareness that’s astonishing for a 19-year-old, she was the perfect representative as the WTA celebrated 50 years of equal prize money ahead of the US Open.

“We need to know what’s come before us,” said Gauff, acknowledging the efforts of

6 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE

COCO GAUFF

“I promise to always use my platform to help make the world a better place.”

Billie Jean King and others.

“I promise to always use my platform to help make the world a better place.”

The influence of Djokovic, now the most decorated major champion of the Open era, also extends well beyond a tennis court. With his wife Jelena, as CEO, his personal foundation has a priority to provide educational initiatives and opportunities to help children in Serbia.

While encouraging young people to dream big, other admirable values are revealed in the foundation’s stated purpose: “because champions are not born, they are nurtured.”

Those values were proudly on display as Djokovic briefly

returned home to celebrate his new milestone with fans in Belgrade. “This is a childhood dream come true,” an emotional Djokovic told a spirited crowd. “Because once upon a time I was down there and celebrating.”

It was another stellar demonstration that as they create inspiration through their on-court feats, our majorwinning champions also have the power to positively influence broader culture – and for all their astonishing skill as players, it’s their qualities as people that truly set them apart.

Vivienne Christie editor@tennismag.com.au

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FEATURE

n e Te n e e Qu

COCO GAUFF

Displaying courage, work ethic and maturity in her journey to a first Grand Slam title, the charismatic Coco Gauff is also the perfect player to show how sport and culture can powerfully intersect. VIVIENNE CHRISTIE reports

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ong before she was crowned a Grand Slam champion at the US Open, Coco Gauff had already emulated one of the game’s most decorated greats. In 2022, the American teenager proudly unveiled the “Coco CG1s” by New Balance, joining 20-time major winner Roger Federer as the only player on tour to boast a signature shoe range.

They were far more than a mere set of sneakers. Designed in part by Gauff herself, the new range celebrated an extension of the multi-million dollar partnership she’d first formed

14 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE

with New Balance as a 14-yearold. The Coco CG1s not only symbolised Gauff ’s soaring star power but also highlighted her ability to draw in new audiences.

“It’s been amazing to see so many fans, especially kids, rock my shoes all over the world,” Gauff, now the only active player with a signature shoe, recently related to Forbes magazine. “It brings me so much joy to see people wearing them. I always offer to sign them.”

It had been a rapid rise for the Florida-born Gauff, who peaked at world No.1 in the junior rankings at age 14 and became the youngest woman

of the Open era to qualify for Wimbledon at age 15. In her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the 2019 Championships, she upset five-time champion (and childhood idol) Venus Williams on her way to a fourth-round appearance.

By the time she contested a fi rst major fi nal, at Roland Garros 2022, Gauff was making a name well beyond the sporting-sphere.

Alongside her tennis endorsements, she’d also joined Federer as a face of Italian pasta-brand Barilla and luxury watchmaker Rolex.

With every new milestone, new role model qualities

emerged in the level-headed teen. “I always try to tell young kids to dream big,” Gauff related during her journey to the Roland Garros fi nal, where she took important lessons from a straight-sets loss to Iga Swiatek.

“You never know when your moment is going to happen.”

COCO GAUFF

“I always try to tell young kids to dream big … You never know when your moment is going to happen.”

FEATURE

With a growing off-court portfolio keeping pace with his ever-improving tennis CV, Taylor Fritz’s emergence coincides with an exciting revival in American tennis.

MATT TROLLOPE reports

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Eight years ago, Fritz was a world No.1 junior and boys’ US Open champion. In 2016, he reached the Memphis final as an 18-year-old wildcard, becoming the youngest American ATP finalist since the tour’s formation in 1990. A month later, he was already inside the world’s top 100.

In the six-and-a-half years between starting that journey to making his top-10 debut in October 2022, Fritz experienced the highs and lows of the sport. He suffered injuries. He confronted harsh sophomoreseason realities like defending points and playing with a bigger target on his back. He dealt with a block at Grand Slam events: fi rst-round losses at his fi rst six, and an inability to pass the third round in his fi rst 21.

All the while, he kept meeting markers of steady improvement.

He cracked the top 50 in late 2018, won his fi rst ATP title (Eastbourne) in 2019 and reached a fi rst 500-level fi nal (Acapulco) in early 2020. He advanced to the second week at a major for the fi rst time at Australian Open 2022.

Ticking these boxes laid the foundation for his true breakthrough, at Indian Wells

MODEL MOMENTS: Taylor Fritz, the 2022 Indian Wells champion, made his runway debut at New York Fashion Week.

INSTAGRAM @taylor_fritz

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mong the many signs of Taylor Fritz’s increasingly glamorous life as a top professional player, his catwalk debut during New York Fashion Week in September shone brightest.

The 25-year-old was one of the models chosen to showcase the Hermes Men’s Winter ‘23 Collection, and he nailed the assignment in sleek head-to-toe black – a look completed with a striking trench-coat.

He described the experience as “unreal”.

It was not Fritz’s first foray into this world. He is building quite the portfolio of fashion shoots, magazine spreads and red-carpet appearances – all while his tennis CV trends impressively in the same direction.

Most recently, he notched his fi rst US Open quarterfi nal appearance, a result further entrenching his position both inside the top 10 and as the American men’s No.1.

His journey to this point has been a slow burn, given how early he was earmarked for future success. Incredibly, he started playing tennis at the age of two.

in March 2022. There, he won his first ATP Masters 1000 title, overcoming Rafael Nadal in the final.

“I’ve lost these matches against the big guys my whole life. It’s always felt like they’re just unbeatable,” Fritz said courtside immediately afterward. “To win a big title, I feel like you’ve got to beat the best, and he’s unbeaten this year.”

During his subsequent press conference, he added: “It’s been the forehand that’s really been clicking for me. Just being able to unload and trust it. It used to be a shot that would just misfi re, almost like lose me matches.

Now it's like I can trust it no matter what to really pull the trigger on a big point.”

Later that season, he cracked the top 10, positioning him as one of the players at the coalface of an American tennis revival.

Tennis is often described as an increasingly niche sport in the United States, but in recent years it has enjoyed strong growth, and the US Open is booming.

Young champions – think Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz – have captured global headlines, as have tournament storylines, like the infamous Naomi Osaka–Serena Williams

TAYLOR FRITZ

“The reason I’m at where I’m at is because I set really high expectations for myself.”

US OPEN

NUMBERS GAME While his Grand Slam tally is now measurable in dozens, Novak Djokovic’s recordbreaking longevity could be his real greatest-ever feat. JEREMY STYLES reports

A

mid the many astonishing records that existed in Novak Djokovic’s history-making feat as the 2023 US Open champion, his vanquished finals opponent Daniil Medvedev arguably put it into context best.

“I feel like I have not a bad career and I have 20 titles,” said a beaten but admiring Medvedev during the trophy presentation.

“You have 24 Grand Slams. Wow.” Indeed, it’s a figure of mammoth proportions in several ways. Djokovic’s 96 titles in total are the most for any man currently on tour; his closest rival, Rafael Nadal, has lifted 92 singles trophies. Among Openera competitors only Jimmy Connors (with 109 titles) and Roger Federer (103) can boast more wins than the Serbian star.

As Djokovic topples record after record, bigger numbers are also within reach. At age 36, he was the oldest US Open men’s champion of the Open era and is understandably smart with his scheduling, knowing it’s the big tournaments that add to his history.

“Grand Slams, I have vocalised that in the last few years, have been always the highest goal and the priority of mine in the whole season,” said Djokovic.

“I don’t play as much in terms of

26 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE

other tournaments, so I try to prioritise my preparation so that I can peak in Slams.”

The selective strategy is proving as devastating as his tennis. In the 10 tournaments he contested this year, Djokovic has claimed an impressive five titles – three of them at Grand Slams, and one an ATP Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati (where his 39th Masters-level victory extended yet another record). More than 12 years since first scaling the summit, Djokovic has also made an emphatic return to world No.1.

The one tournament he played in the North American summer provided the perfect preparation to extend his Grand Slam reign.

Djokovic fought for a gruelling

three hours and 49 minutes After claiming an efficient first against Carlos Alcaraz in the set, Djokovic appeared to be Cincinnati final, saving a match tiring as the second set extended point to claim the longest threeto 104 suspense-filled minutes. set final in ATP history.

“I don’t think I have ever There was a similar resilience, played a longer set in my life, both physical and mental, as he particularly not on this occasion managed his only significant against a top player like Daniil,” test in New York. Facing he later said. countryman Laslo Djere in a With a set point saved, highly charged third round, however, the Serb stalled Djokovic rallied from a two-sets any momentum the Russian deficit in a late-night thriller. might have stolen; Djokovic “I think the message is sent was never again threatened as to the rest of the field that he completed a 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3 obviously I’m still able to play victory to add yet more records five sets deep at night,” to his unparalleled CV. he pointedly noted.

Djokovic’s 24 Grand MAJOR GREAT: “Coming from two sets Slam singles titles are Novak Djokovic down always sends a more than any player of is now a 24-time Grand Slam strong message to the the Open era, separating champion. future opponents.” him from Serena And how that Williams, who won 23, message was sent. Subsequent and equalling the all-time record wins over qualifier Borno that Margaret Court set across Gojo and top American man amateur and professional eras Taylor Fritz were straightwith her 24 major wins. sets encounters, with debut “To make history of this semifinalist Ben Shelton staging sport is just something truly the biggest challenge by pushing remarkable and special. a third-set tiebreak.

Obviously in every possible way, The rematch of the 2021 final in every possible meaning of against Medvedev, in which the the word special,” said Djokovic, Russian had halted Djokovic’s still somewhat awestruck by the quest to complete a calendar magnitude of the achievement Grand Slam, highlighted the in his victory speech. quality that’s become the Serb’s “It’s hard to describe in words. most defining feature – finding I had the childhood dream when a way to win when he’s most I was seven, eight. I wanted to under pressure. become the best player in the

NOVAK DJOKOVIC

“I don’t want to leave this sport if I’m still at the top.”

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FEATURE

Modern players are winning the Fame Game as their celebrity status extends far beyond the court.

KRISTINA MOORE reports

AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE 41