Year-End: A look back to tennis important moments in 2021

As tennis’ 2021 season is nearing its end, one may look back to what has happened in the sport in the recent past over the past 12 months.

Recently, Mubadala World Tennis Championship concluded in Abu Dhabi on December 18 with Russia’s Andry Rublev defeating England’s Andy Murray in the final.

Other than that, the domination by Novak Djokovic throughout the season, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev denying history to Serbia’s tennis great by winning his first Grand Slam, and Emma Raducanu clinching her first major event triumph at the U.S. Open were some of the important moments of the 2021 season.

However, just before the end of the season, the tennis fraternity was left shocked when last month China’s former doubles number one Peng Shuai alleged on a social media platform that former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli — who is in his 70s — coerced her into sex during an on-off relationship spanning several years.

Most of the tournaments around the globe were affected because of Covid-19 in 2020 and were hosted with a very small number of fans and some of them were also played behind closed doors.

Fans’ returning to the court to watch their favourite tennis stars play in 2021 would undoubtedly have been the high point of the year.

Novak Djokovic’s dominance

Novak Djokovic’s win-loss record in the Grand Slam matches in 2021 is 27-1, and he was just one victory away from being the first man to win all four major tennis championships in one season since Rod Laver in 1969.

The 34-year-old from Serbia is ranked No. 1, won seven matches at the Australian Open, seven at the French Open, and seven at Wimbledon to win the first three major events of the calendar year. He added six wins at the U.S. Open before losing the final against world number two Daniil Medvedev on September 12.

Djokovic became the third player in the men’s tennis arena after Federer and Nadal to win a record 20 Grand Slam titles.

In the past decade, most tennis fans were supporting either the Swiss maestro or the Spaniard, leaving few neutrals for Djokovic to win their hearts over.

But finally in 2021, throughout the whole season, it was evident that the Serb enjoyed the experience of hearing his name chanted by the crowd in a way that it never had been before, especially at the US Open.

Djokovic was tearful after his US Open final’s rout but the 34-year-old said that even though he had lost he still felt like the happiest man in the world.

Amongst those historic feats in 2021, Djokovic produced two iconic moments of tennis magic that are worth remembering for a very long time.

One of them was the third set in the semifinal of the French Open where he managed to halt the dominant proceedings of Rafael Nadal. The third set lasted over an hour which the Serb won on a tie-breaker.

The second one was the winning shot that he played against Matteo Berrettini in the third set of the Wimbledon final.

At that very moment, the match was perfectly poised with both the opponents having won a set each and they were halfway through the third.

This was when Djokovic produced a brilliant stroke that lifted the crowd out of their seats at the Centre Court and seemed to break Berrettini’s resolve.

Though the 34-year-old did not complete the Calendar Slam, he still had one of the best seasons a tennis player has had in the Open Era after 1968.

Other than winning three Majors and reaching the final of the fourth, the Serb reached the Olympic final and reached the semifinals in both singles and doubles category in the Davis Cup.

Raducanu Triumph: First Qualifier to win a Grand Slam
Emma Raducanu became the first qualifier — irrespective of gender — in the open era who went on to win the Grand Slam.

The 19-year-old started the US Open in the qualifying draw as No. 31 seed and won 10 consecutive matches to secure her first-ever Grand Slam title.

Before Raducanu, the best result a qualifier produced was reaching a semi-final and out of those who played the knockout stage games only two players including McEnroe and Dewulf, were able to win a set in their semifinals.

Medvedev denying History to Djokovic

Russia’s Daniil Medvedev defeated Djokovic in the final of the US Open in straight sets (6–4, 6–4, 6–4) and denied him the Calendar Slam.

The Serb was in the quest of what would have been the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969. But he could only cover his face with a towel to hide tears during the game.

Both players also met in the Final of the Australian Open earlier this year but at that time, Djokovic was too hot to handle.

The 25-year-old also led Russia’s double triumph at the ATP Cup both at the stat and at the end of the year.

The Russian almost had a perfect tournament as he only dropped a set on his route to the first Grand Slam Triumph.

He now is the first man for almost a decade to win the US Open by dropping just one set in the quarter-finals against Botic Van De Zandschulp (Q).

Matteo Berrettini’ injury at the ATP finals

After a strong start to the 2021 season, Italy’s Matteo Berrettini could not finish his opening match against Alexander Zverev at the ATP Tour finals on September 15.

The 25-year-old had to leave the court at the beginning of the second set due to an injury.

The number-six seed reached the first Masters 1000 final in Madrid and the Roland Garros quarterfinals. He also won his first ATP 500 title at the Queen’s Club Championships

Berrettini also reached his maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon this year but even after winning the first set, he lost to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic with the score of 6–7, 6–4, 6–4, 6–3.

Australian Open’s five-set epics

Grand Slams are the only events in a calendar year with five sets possible in men’s tennis matches.  There have been calls recently that should be reduced to three sets. Initially, three out of the four Grand Slams in the 1970s tested a best-of-three-set format in the men’s events.

As reported by the New York Times, The Australian Open started the ball rolling in the 1973 and 1974 tournaments, in which only the first-round matches were best-of-three.

The French Open was best-of-three in the first two rounds in 1973, 1974, and 1975. Moreover US Open tried it in the first three rounds in 1975, 1976, and 1978 and through the fourth round in 1977.

Since then, there has been a debate at regular intervals about the number of sets that the major events should be played with.

As for the authorities taking any such decision, they should not forget the excitement five-set matches bring to the table for the fans all over the world.

A great example was Australian Open 2021 where tennis lovers enjoyed epic five-set thrillers.

Men’s tennis was at its absolute best in the second-round match between Nick Kyrgios and Ugo Humbert (6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 9-7), in the third round contest between Dominic Thiem and Kyrgios ( 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4).

Kyrgios-Humbert, Thiem-Kyrgios, Djokovic-Fritz, and, above all, Tsitsipas-Nadal were all marathon matches that showed tennis, especially men’s tennis, is a spectacle you cannot afford to miss.

Halep’s top 10 streak halted by Injury

Almost for 373 weeks, Simona Halep was in the top 10 rankings but unfortunately had to withdraw from Roland Garros and Wimbledon due to an injury.

The Romanian has been one of the most consistent players on the WTA Tour. The 30-year-old suffered from a calf injury during the Italian Open’s second-round match against Angelique Kerber. The injury turned out to be quite serious and she had to leave the court.

This was a tough moment for the world number 20, also it was a reminder for the fans that though the players achieve feats on the court but at the end of the day, they are also humans.

Halep returned to the tennis arena by playing Canadian Open and slowly regained her form through different events and she also reached the final at the Transylvania Open.

Later, she injured herself again during the Linz Open and had to withdraw from the semifinals which raised concerns over the Romanian’s fitness.

Osaka’s struggles with Mental Health

Naomi Osaka started the year with her fourth Grand Slam win at the Australian Open. The 24-year-old was on a 23-match winning streak that came to an end at the Miami Open.

Just ahead of the French Open this year, Japan’s tennis sensation announced that she would skip the mandatory press conferences as they will harm her mental health.

Osaka also went on to withdraw from Roland Garros after her first-round win and she pulled out from Wimbledon as well.

The world number 13 announced a break from tennis after the third-round exit from the US Open because according to her, she wasn’t happy competing anymore.

Federer’s cameo in the 2021 season

Roger Federer underwent multiple knee surgeries in 2020 and the fans were eagerly waiting for him to return to the courts this year to showcase his exceptional talent.

However, that was not how things turned out as the Swiss maestro, who returned to the tour at the Qatar Open, faced a defeat in the quarterfinals.

Later in the French Open, the 20-time Grand slam champion reached the fourth round before he withdrew from the event due to knee issues and give himself some time to prepare for the Grass court major event.

Meanwhile, Federer’s participation at Wimbledon was not confirmed but still, he showed up and made it to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets (3-6, 6-7, 0-6).

Afterwards, the Swiss maestro announced that he had undergone another knee surgery due to an injury he suffered at Wimbledon.

With Federer turning 40 this year, the announcement was concerning on several levels. The physical and mental effect of such an injury, that too when you are on the wrong side of the 30s, is an immense challenge for any athlete. However, fans will hope to see their favourite star at least one more time in the next year.

Serena William’s upset at Wimbledon

America’s tennis great Serena Williams has suffered plenty of injuries throughout her career, but she has successfully managed to overcome them and emerged even stronger than before.

However, Wimbledon’s first-round clash against Aliaksandra Sasnovich turned out to be one of the toughest moments of her career.

The 40-year-old was in the leading position in the game standing at three games to one but suddenly during a rally, she slipped after which the contest turned upside down.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner tried her best to continue with the game but the pain was too much and eventually, teary Williams had to exit from the event.

However, the fans recognized her efforts and gave her a standing ovation with a round of applause as she walked out of the aren’t.

Since 2014, it was the first time when Serena could not reach the final of Wimbledon.

Peng Shuai’s denial of #Metoo allegations

Recently, China’s Tennis sensation Peng Shuai alleged the former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli for coercing her into an on-off relationship over the span of several years.

Meanwhile, that post was taken off from the internet, but a global uproar was triggered after people shared the screenshots of the allegations on Twitter.

In a latest development in that case, Peng Shuai gave the first interview to Zaobao in which she was dressed in a red T-shirt and dark down jacket, she insisted that she is living freely and has also denied the allegations she made with regards to a senior leader sexually assaulting her.

However, Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), was not convinced with the former doubles world number one’s well-being after her comments and said that it still had “significant concerns about her well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion”.

“We remain steadfast in our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault,” the organization said in a statement emailed to AFP.

Earlier, the WTA was concerned about the safety of the Chinese tennis star and suspended all tournaments in China and Hong Kong.