The absence of Federer and Nadal has hardly made a difference to the Australian Open as organisers are confident about hitting an unprecedented number in 2024.
The last time when neither Rafael Nadal nor Roger Federer was part of the Australian Open was way back in 1999. 25 years ago. It was when, for the first time in his career, Andre Agassi finished the year ranked World No. 1, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi won three doubles titles, including the French Open and Wimbledon, a 13-year-old Sania Mirza made her debut at the ITF junior circuit, Martina Hingis was in raging form with seven titles and Kim Clijsters took the Newcomer-of-the-Year award. Yeah, that’s how long it’s been.
With Federer retired and Nadal enduring a second-round loss at last year’s AO, Melbourne was gearing up to see the Spaniard play his first Grand Slam in a year, before an injury at the Brisbane International earlier this month broke a lot of hearts. The city, host to the Australian Open, has never really recovered from the euphoria of the 2017 final, where Nadal and Federer played out a five-set classic at the Rod Laver Arena.
So, expectedly, the bar had been set pretty high. How do you top it? Seven years on, it remains a mystery. There are AO banners everywhere – outside the airport, on the electronic billboards within the city – but a Grand Slam without ‘Fedal’ for the first time in a quarter of a century had the potential to be a huge bummer. Add to that the absence of local hero Nick Kyrgios, and it’s a big void to fill.
Or so you thought. Because there is a new energy in town. The city seems to have moved on from nostalgia. It loves to revel in the present. A big example is how Gael Monfils was spotted chilling and getting pictures clicked with fans at the Crown Metropol, and the youth raving about Jannik Sinner, whom Australians believe is the best ever to hold a racquet.
In fact, the absence of Federer and Nadal has hardly made a difference to the Australian Open as the organisers are confident about hitting an unprecedented number in 2024.(HT)