Australian Tennis Magazine - February/March 2022

AO SOUVENIR ISSUE

AO 2022 CHAMPION

ASH BARTY PRIDE OF AUSTRALIA

SPECIAL K'S STAR ON COURT DYLAN ALCOTT A NEW TITLE SAM STOSUR SIGNS OFF

FEB / MAR 2022

PLUS

RAFAEL NADAL FROM GREAT TO GREATEST

contents FEBRUARY / MARCH 2022 VOL.47 NO.1

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FROM GREAT TO GREATEST With his second Australian Open triumph, Rafael Nadal also seized an all-time record 21st Grand Slam title.

FEATURES 18 A HISTORY-MAKING RUN

Ash Barty ended a 44-year wait for a local singles champion with a dominant performance at Australian Open 2022.

EDITOR Vivienne Christie

20 BARTY TIME

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Leigh Rogers

PHOTOGRAPHS Getty Images Tennis Australia John Anthony/ISPA

FOUNDING EDITOR Alan Trengove

COVER PHOTO Getty Images

Family, friends and some high-profile supporters joined the party as world No.1 Ash Barty celebrated her Australian Open victory.

22 NEXT LEVEL SUCCESS

As he shared in the celebrations of Ash Barty’s triumph, coach Craig Tyzzer noted the world No.1’s astonishing ability to build on her success.

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BRILLIANT BARTY BREAKS THE DROUGHT

In a dream run to the Australian Open title, Ash Barty lifted the nation along with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. 4 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE

DESIGN Andrea Williamson Daniel Frawley 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.

45 A SUMMER OF MILESTONES

Australian players made a promising start to the 2022 season, with many achieving major milestones and impressive breakthroughs.

52 LEAVING ON A HIGH

LESSONS FOR LIFE

As Dylan Alcott ended his history-making career as a world No.1 at the Australian Open, his impact extended well beyond the court.

58 100 YEARS, 100 MOMENTS

With AO 2022 marking the centenary of the Australian women’s championship, we look back at 100 milestones and pivotal moments in the event’s first century.

64 KOKKINAKIS: THE NEXT CHAPTER

Returned to the world’s top 100 after lifting his first ATP singles trophy in Adelaide, a happy and healthy Thanasi Kokkinakis is embracing the next chapter of his storied career.

68 TENNIS HEROES HIT HOLLYWOOD

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Venus and Serena Williams’ rise to superstardom is legendary in sporting circles – and is now also the storyline of a blockbuster film.

As Sam Stosur ended her major-winning singles career at AO 2022, the much-loved Australian had not only absorbed many important life lessons but also passed them on to new stars in the sport.

REGULARS 7 FIRST SERVE 70 FAN ZONE 71 BREAKPOINTS

74 IN THE SPOTLIGHT 75 ONE TO WATCH 76 SCOREBOARD

78 RANKINGS 80 KIDS’ CLUB 82 LAST WORD

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SPECIAL K'S SERVE UP SURPRISE Aussie wildcards Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios became the first all-Australian team in 25 years to claim the Australian Open men’s doubles title.

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CASUAL COURT HIRE

A TRUE

FIRST SERVE

n o i p m a h C I

t was a one-champion-toanother moment that will forever be entrenched in Australian sporting history.

Moments after Ash Barty celebrated the high of her fi rst Australian Open title, there was another one – Evonne Goolagong Cawley, her long-time friend and mentor, had secretly arrived in Melbourne to present the trophy.

“To be able to experience that together on such a big occasion, on such a beautiful court, and in a tournament that means so much to both of us, was really nice,” Barty smiled. “(I’m) very lucky to be able to give her a hug in some of the biggest moments in my life.”

Barty had of course become the first Australian player to

acknowledged early coaches Jim Joyce and Jason Stoltenberg.

“So many people have been a piece of our puzzle for the last 20 years of my tennis career – being able to share it with the ones who meant the most to me was really cool," she said.

And just as Barty was lauded – again – as one of the nation’s greatest role models, the world No.1 is most delighted to set a positive example as a person, not a player.

In the hours after her victory, Barty explained how the youngest members of her family recognise her fi rst as Aunty Ash. “I hope that never changes for them, because I don't want their love or their worth to be connected to results or me as a

“So many people have been a piece of our puzzle. Being able to share it with the ones who meant the most to me was really cool.” claim her home Grand Slam since Chris O’Neil 44 years earlier.

The AO 1978 champion, now 65, beamed as brightly as anyone as Barty secured victory; so too did Rod Laver, who well understood the unique emotion of winning a home Grand Slam.

Other celebrities delighted to watch Barty make history included sporting icons Cathy Freeman and Ian Thorpe, as well as actor Russell Crowe and entertainer Dannii Minogue.

But while deeply appreciative of the public adoration that accompanied her career-defi ning triumph, it was the support of those closest to home that perhaps held the most meaning.

The Australian Open is Barty’s third Grand Slam title but the fi rst she claimed with so many close friends and family close by – including fiancé Garry Kissick, parents Robert and Josie, plus big sisters Sara and Ali. Barty also

tennis player,” said Barty.

“I want that to be me as a person and how I care for them and how I love them as an aunty.”

And if more people take to the court as Barty and her compatriots scale new heights, that’s special too. In a glorious night for Australian tennis, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios also claimed an all-Australian AO men’s doubles final.

Across the nation, many young players were dreaming of becoming the next Barty, Kokkinakis or Kyrgios as they picked up a racquet.

Perhaps they too will have an Australian Open champion-tochampion moment in the years to come.

Vivienne Christie editor@tennismag.com.au AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE

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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Australian Open 2022

HISTORY-MAKING HIGHS Heroic performances at Australian Open 2022 captured the hearts of Australian fans and millions more across the world.

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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

AO 2022

CHAMPION

BRILLIAN t h g u o r d e h t s k a e r B

In a dream run to the Australian Open title and a victory dais moment with Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Ash Barty lifted the nation along with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.

By SUZI PETKOVSKI

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ASH BARTY

“As an Aussie, the most important part of this is being able to share it with so many people.”

T BARTY AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE

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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

RAFAEL NADAL

“I feel honoured (and) lucky to achieve one more very special thing in my tennis career.”

AO 2022

CHAMPION

GREATEST o t t a e r g m Fro

With unstoppable fighting spirit in a career-defining Australian Open, Rafael Nadal seized the 21st Grand Slam title that makes him the greatest male player of all time. VIVIENNE CHRISTIE reports

T

hat Rafael Nadal owned a fi ghting spirit as vast as his colossal colossal talent and legendary work ethic was already beyond doubt.

This was, after all, the man who’d lifted his fi rst Grand Slam trophy just days after his 19th birthday at 2005 Roland Garros, going on to win at least one major title in all but two of the next 16 seasons.

But who could have foreseen the battle that the 35-year-old Nadal would stage – and win – in his 17th Australian Open campaign? Weeks earlier, simply starting in the tournament, the 63rd Grand Slam of Nadal’s storied career, had seemed an impossible feat.

Battling a chronic left foot injury, the Spaniard had limped out of the only tournament he’d contested in the second half of

last season, at Washington in of Roger Federer and Novak August, in the third round. After Djokovic with 20 Grand Slam surgery and a period spent on titles, and joined Roy Emerson, crutches, there were questions of Rod Laver and Djokovic as the whether Nadal would return to only men in tennis history to win top-level tennis at all. every major at least twice.

How quickly, and emphatically, “I feel honoured. I feel lucky to that narrative turned – and with achieve one more very special it, so too did major history for the thing in my tennis career. I don’t sport. With a comecare much if I am the STANDALONE STAR: from-behind win over one or not the one or Overtaking Novak Daniil Medvedev in one Djokovic and Roger the best of the history of the most dramatic … for me, it’s about Federer with his 21st Grand Slam fi nals ever contested enjoying nights like title, Rafael Nadal in Melbourne, Nadal tonight. That means also became only seized the 21st everything for me, no? the fourth man to Grand Slam title that Means even more to win every major at statistically determines least twice. achieve the second him as the greatest Australian Open more male player of all time. than any other thing.”

“Of course, for me it’s amazing That Nadal valued the to achieve another Grand Slam moment of his victory more at this moment of my career. Just than its immense overall means a lot to me … I know it’s a impact spoke volumes about special number, 21,” said the everhow his record-breaking humble Nadal, who edged ahead milestone was secured.

Battling for five hours and 24 minutes to record his 2-6 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4 7-5 win over the increasingly capable Medvedev, it was Nadal’s only comeback from a two-sets deficit in a Grand Slam final. It was the first time he’d recovered from that deficit at any major since the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2007.

“If we put everything together, the scenario, the moment, what (it) means … without a doubt, (it) probably would have been the biggest comeback of my tennis career,” the exhausted but exhilarated champion agreed.

It was also, as Nadal described in the trophy ceremony, “one of the most emotional matches of (his) career” – a reflection of both the incredible quality of the furiously-fought contest and how much it meant to simply compete.

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