. World news – AU – Tennis 2020 review: Nadals 13. French Open victory, Federer’s headline shortens the year

2020 was a different and difficult year for tennis, but like all sports, the game weathered the storm. In the pandemic, Wimbledon was canceled for the first time since World War II, while the French Open was postponed and rescheduled after the US Open. A large number of tours have been canceled altogether, and fans have been banned from the tournaments that took place as the world grappled with the global health crisis. Here’s a look at the tennis year where the Rafael Nadal French Open romance blossomed again while Novak Djokovic earned him a number of haters for his antics.

Novak Djokovic successfully defended his Australian Open title earlier this year, beating rising star Dominic Thiem in the final. The Australian Open win was his 17th. Grand Slam title and eighth in Melbourne as he bridged Roger Federer’s 20 Grand Slams. The Serbian ace defeated its Swiss counterpart in the semifinals, which was the first player to win 100 games at the Grand Slam at the beginning of the third round. Djokovic’s opponent Dominic Thiem surprised everyone with his skills when he reached his third Grand Slam final.

The Austrian defeated Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals before taking on Alexander Zverev in the semifinals. The 27-year-old faced Djokovic in the final before losing in the last set of an exciting collision. Djokovic’s victory was also the first time the world No.. I came back to win a Grand Slam final after leaving two sets to one after losing each of the last seven times.

The outbreak of the global pandemic resulted in the tennis calendar being canceled for almost five months. The French Open was postponed to September, while the Wimbledon championships, which were scheduled to run from June to July, were completely canceled for the first time since World War II. The All England Club took out an infectious disease insurance plan and reportedly called for over £ 100m, for cancellation of which £ 10m was distributed to the 620 players who could have cut the tournament.

Brief attempts have been made to resume tennis amid the pandemic, but Adria Tour highlighted the risks of such an endeavor. The tournament took place in Belgrade, Serbia and Zadar and was awarded by World No.. . 1 Novak Djokovic. The tour was a complete fiasco with the crowd being fully allowed and no social distancing measures in place. The event was later canceled after Grigor Dimitrov, one of the marquee players, tested positive for COVID-19. Days later, Borna Ćorić and Djokovic announced themselves that they had also been infected with the virus.

The 2020 US Open had many premieres as it was the first Grand Slam played after the COVID-19 pandemic. Fans were not allowed to enter the arena while Rafael Nadal was eliminated from the tournament for security reasons. After his defeat in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, Roger Federer struggled with his injury problems and had another operation. He was excluded from the US Open, the French Open and the subsequent ATP Tour Finals. However, Djokovic was banned from the tournament during his fourth round match against Pablo Carreño Busta. The Serbian ace hit a ball towards the baseline after being broken on lane 6-5 in the first set, which hit a line woman in the neck.

After Novak Djokovic was disqualified, the US Open was the first Grand Slam tournament since the French Open 2004 in which the « Big 3 » did not make it to the semi-finals. Dominic Thiem, who was the defeated finalist of the Australian Open, defeated Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals before he saw Alexander Zverev’s back in the final after another thriller with five sets. The 27-year-old became the first player to win the US Open by straight sets in the Open Era, while the first since Pancho Gonzales’ 2004 French Open. Thiem was also the first player born in the 90s to win a Grand Slam and the first new Grand Slam champion since the 2016 US Open.

Also read: Rafael Nadal 2020 review: 20. Grand Slam, 1000 Match wins the year of the little game

Rafael Nadal continued his dominance at the French Open after defeating Novak Djokovic in the final. The win was Nadal’s 13th. Victory at the Roland Garros and his 20th. Grand Slam title matched Federer’s record for the most important titles in men’s singles history. Nadal faced Diego Schwartzman in straight sets in the semifinals to arrange a meeting with Djokovic, who defeated Stefano Tsitsipas in his semifinals. The Serb was no match for the King of Clay as Nadal recorded a straight set win in the final to take the trophy. Nadal was also the first player to win 100 games at the French Open and only the second male player after Federer at the Australian Open and Wimbledon to win 100 games in a single Grand Slam tournament.

Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Tennis, Roger Federer, French Open, Association of Tennis Professionals, Andrey Rublev, Nitto ATP-Final, Grand Slam