Grand Slams: In Australia finally with a full band again?
Only one in four 2022 Grand Slam tournaments has seen all of the men's top ten players compete. Hopefully that will change again next season.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Sep 15, 2022, 11:06 am
The Grand Slam tournaments are tennis performance shows. And of course the best players on the planet should also be available for these showcases. In the current season, however, this has proven to be difficult - due to various circumstances. So let's briefly review the four majors in 2022...
Australian Open without Djokovic and Ruud
The first highlight of the year had to take place without Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud. Djokovic, the ATP industry leader at the beginning of the year, was present in Melbourne, but had reckoned without the Australian authorities, who refused him final entry and participation in the Australian Open. For Ruud, there were more banal reasons that prevented him from starting: The Norwegian, number eight in the world at the time, was struggling with back problems.
Record: eight out of ten top ten players at the start
French Open with a full band
Eureka! The tournament in Roland Garros was the only major of the year in which the current top ten players were actually able to take part. Which immediately caused a few instant classics: the quarter-finals between Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz or between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, for example. Or the semi-finals, in which Zverev injured his ankle in the match against Nadal after three hours of play, but not even two completed sets.
Balance sheet: full marks
Wimbledon without Zverev, Medvedev, Rublev
No Russian players were wanted on Church Road this year, which gave the industry leader on June 27, Daniil Medvedev, and Andrey Rublev, eighth in the charts at the time, two involuntary weeks off. Alexander Zverev, on the other hand, greeted him from the sick bed. And Matteo Berrettini, although "only" number eleven, but one of the favorites, had to cancel his participation late - due to a corona infection.
Balance: only seven top ten players at the start
US Open without Djokovic and Zverev
The tiresome issue of the lack of vaccination gave Novak Djokovic a game-free summer, including the two weeks at the US Open. And Alexander Zverev would have liked to. As the renewed ankle injury in preparation for the Davis Cup showed: New York would have come too early for the German number one.
Balance: Eight out of ten there