Madison finds the Keys and coach Murray impresses – what we learned in Melbourne
Madison finds the Keys and coach Murray impresses – what we learned in Melbourne
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Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys are leaving Melbourne with added baggage after being crowned Australian Open champions. Sinner successfully defended his title and tightened his stranglehold on men’s tennis, while Keys finally fulfilled her teenage promise a month before her 30th birthday.
Here, the PA news agency picks out five things we learned from the year’s first grand slam. At 14, Keys seemed destined to be a grand slam champion. At 24, the dream was still very much alive. But, at 29, the American had learned to be at peace with the fact it may never happen. And then it did. Keys not only won the title, she did it by playing brave, first-strike tennis and beating both Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka in matches that went to the wire. Her success should be a shot in the arm for other players who feel their chance has passed.
Whether or not Andy Murray continues to work with Novak Djokovic, it seems likely he will stay in coaching. The Scot brought the same diligence he applied to his playing career to this new role and earned rave reviews from his former rival. Murray has the humility not to want to make it about him – in fact, the exact opposite – and was a calm, encouraging presence in the coaching box. How much time he wants to devote to coaching so early into his playing retirement is a big sticking point, though.
Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu both produced their best runs at Melbourne Park, reaching the fourth and third rounds, respectively. Draper showed he can fight through five-set battles but at a cost to his troublesome hip, and getting fully fit must be the 23-year-old’s priority. Raducanu had two strong wins but was then blitzed by Swiatek and her serve still needs a lot more work, something that will be more difficult, given the decision of coach Nick Cavaday to step away for health reasons. Jacob Fearnley’s remarkable rise continues and there is no reason he cannot be pushing for the top 50 soon, but Katie Boulter needs to find the right recipe for stepping up on the big stage.
