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The Australian Open concluded on Sunday, January 28, with Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka winning the men’s and women’s singles titles, respectively. It was the first-ever Grand Slam title for Sinner and second for Sabalenka, who has now won two back-to-back Australian Open titles.
This year’s tournament had its share of quality matches, with some matches. On that note, let us have a look at the top five matches of the torunament:
#5. Iga Swiatek vs Linda Noskova
The match between Linda Noskova and Iga Swiatek was the biggest upset of the tournament. The 19-year-old from the Czech Republic beat the World No. 1 in her debut Australian Open after being a set down, staging a memorable comeback.
With the win, Noskova also halted Swiatek’s 17-match winning streak.Swiatek began the match in a great manner and won the first set, but the young Czech’s powerful backhand and quality drop shots started winning her points as the match progressed. Swiatek also became more erratic as Noskova played the match of her life to stun the former.
#4. Alexander Zverev vs Cameron Norrie
Zverev featured in yet another cliffhanger, this time against Norrie, to win in more than four hours.
The match pitted Norrie’s crosscourt forehand against Zverev’s powerful backhand and the battle continued till the end. The two players matched each other stroke for stroke and enthralled the spectators in the process.
However, the German exhibited more power in the match, hitting 54 winners including 15 aces. He also won a final set tie-break to book his place in the quarterfinals, thus dashing the Brit's hopes.
#3. Daniil Medvedev vs Alexander Zverev
Medvedev and Zverev have featured in epic matches in the past, too, but this year’s Australian Open semifinal was a classic in every sense. The 27-year-old Russian bounced back from a two-set deficit to win in four hours and 18 minutes.
It was a clash between two powerful backhands and Zverev had the better of exchanges for the first two sets. However, Medvedev’s superb defense and resilience allowed him to stage a comeback. The odds were heavily stacked against him after the first two sets, but the Russian did a wonderful job to prevail in the end.
#2. Jannik Sinner vs Daniil Medvedev (final)
It was an Australian Open final of epic proportions, with Medvedev once again ending up on the losing side, just as he did in the 2022 final against Rafael Nadal. Medvedev pounded Sinner’s backhand with his crosscourt backhand repeatedly in the first two sets as the Italian hardly had an answer to that.
However, as Sinner started his down-the-line backhand to the open court with more conviction, the balance of the match swayed in his favor. He came back from being two sets down and won three consecutive sets in the final to finish it off.
#1. Elena Rybakina vs Anna Blinkova
Rybakina suffered a shock defeat in the Australian Open at the hands of Blinkova, who was ranked 57th in the world at that moment. Rybakina made a solid start to the match, but Blinkova's quality serving reversed the tide slowly to win her the first set.
Rybakina then made amends in the second set to win it and tie the score, but what followed was a marathon third set. The deciding set had to be decided by a tie-break that went on for 42 points. It was thus the most fascinating match of the tournament.
