Giants go 'down under' to minnows in upset-filled Australian Open

Ana Ivanovic, who upset Serena Williams in the Australian Open 4th round

The first major Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, has reached the last two rounds and there have been some epic clashes between the top ranked players along with some startling, major upsets. Almost every day, one top-seeded player has gone ‘down-under’, which has given the tournament a thunderous response and the ‘world of tennis’ the promise of rising fire-brand tennis players who are sure to entertain us for a long time. No doubt the ‘challengers’ should be applauded for their efforts which enabled them to beat the ‘champions’, but these upsets were mainly inflicted because of the ‘champions’ or top-ranked players’ tendency to rest on their laurels and bank on experience to counter surprise elements.

Upsets are not new in any form of sport, be it tennis, cricket or football. But reasons vary from one game to another. The inability to change strategy is the most common reason for the downfall of an in-form champion team or player because of which there is a sudden loss in momentum which culminates in defeat at the hands of the opponent. In tennis, a player’s lack of hunger or passion is sure to bring his/her game down adversely as he/she is solely responsible for the game’s fortune. Similarly, some of the players who lose take their opponents too lightly and eventually get outplayed by them.

The list of big-name players who have been eliminated in this tournament is long. To name a few, they are big draws like Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka. Sharapova lost to Dominika Cibulkova in a fourth round match with the score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 and her game looked quite ordinary. Her performance reflected that the pressure to perform and protect her reputation before a nothing-to-lose opponent made her nervous, as she lost her advantage at quite a few vital moments of the match. Cibulkova’s game made Sharapova completely change her game and her lack of knowledge of her opponent’s game doomed her. Sharapova tried to claw her way back into the game but it was certainly not her day as she looked perplexed and under pressure, making 45 unforced errors in the match.

Top-ranked Williams also lost her match to Ana Ivanovic, who has not been regarded as a serious challenger in the recent past. In this match, Serena Williams was found guilty of playing too many rash shots at crunch situations of the match which led her to the exit door of the Grand Slam. Without a doubt, there was a certain amount of over-confidence and presumption which led to take her rival a little lightly, which cost her dearly.

Coming to the men’s side of the draw, the biggest upset was the sudden defeat of title-holder Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the Open. This defeat came as a shock not only for him but also for his supporters and rivals. His top notch form was not doubted to the slightest extent before the start of the match. His gruelling encounter with Stanislas Wawrinka in a 5-set thriller brought his 25-match winning streak at the event and 28-match overall winning streak to a sudden halt. Djokovic is undoubtedly a fit and energetic player on court, but sometimes a long and tiring match gets the better of big match players too. This was the case with the Serb who ultimately couldn’t keep his nerves and surrendered to Wawrinka’s unique and unknown style of play.

Sweltering heat, the ‘fatigue’ factor and keen contest from new or lessor known entrants have played their part in this tight tournament, where even renowned players like Djokovic, del Potro, Radwanska lost to less renowned players. The top-ranked players in the doubles category – the Bryan brothers – also surrendered to Eric Butorac and Raven Klaasen by the score of 7-6, 6-4 to give a new twist to the men’s double category and open up the contest for other players.

The reasons may be plenty for such upsets but certain factors like fatigue, casual attitude and above all, the pressure to perform are certainly affecting the mindset and strategies of star players in the current edition of the Australian Open. A new twist in the tale is certainly on the cards.

So here we are, in the last few days of the Grand Slam, and I am sure that it will be full of surprises and absurd twists and turns, both for the players as well as spectators. In both the categories, i.e. men and women, the competition is open and I won’t be surprised if the winner of the Nadal vs Federer match gets a tough time from Wawrinka in the final. On the other hand, the women’s draw promises to give us a new champion this year.

Watch out for the concluding rounds as ‘fatigue’, ‘pressure to perform’ and dismissive approach to new comers and unwillingness to study the surprise elements may cause some more major upsets and an eventful ending to the Grand Slam.