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Tennis, despite all the off-court drama and humor, is essentially about one thing -- who wins and who loses.
When their careers end, tennis players will be remembered primarily for their achievements. They will be remembered for their strength and perseverance. Their victories and hard-fought losses will make history.
The moments that etch themselves in tennis history come from achievements on the court and how they are commemorated off the court as well. That said, here is a look at the top 10 tennis moments of 2021:
#10 Nicolas Mahut defeating a men's singles top 100 player for the first time in over a year
Even those who are not big fans of tennis will be familiar with that Wimbledon match. John Isner and Nicolas Mahut battled for over three days, spanning 665 minutes and 183 games, before the American won the fifth set 70-68 in the first round of Wimbledon 2010.
Since being the World No. 39 five years ago, the Frenchman's ranking has been steadily dropping, and is currently above the 400 mark.
This is mainly because he has transformed into a doubles player, having won a Career Slam in men's doubles and the ATP Finals as well as Roland Garros in 2021.
He has not enjoyed similar success in singles. But this year, Mahut triumphed over a top 100 opponent after more than a year and a half when he defeated World No.100 Dennis Novak in the France vs Austria ATP Cup singles tie.
#9 Carla Suarez Navarro's comeback after defeating cancer
In September 2020, Carla Suarez Navarro was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma, prompting her to retire from the sport at the end of the year.
But in 2021, after 15 rounds of radiotherapy and nine rounds of chemotherapy, the Spaniard returned to action at Roland Garros so she could have a final season befitting her career.
Suarez Navarro took to Twitter to express her emotions about playing in Paris one last time.
"As I did during my whole career, I left everything on court last night & that was a victory itself. It was really special to feel the @rolandgarros vibe one last time."
I’ll keep unforgettable memories forever. The clay, the french flair, the close battles. Merci, Paris!" she wrote.
Suarez Navarro played at the French Open, Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics, US Open and the Billie Jean King Cup in what was a sort of farewell tour for the former World No. 6. She was awarded the 2021 WTA Comeback player of the year and more importantly, her cancer is in complete remission.
#8 Casper Ruud's ATP title hat-trick
World No. 8 Casper Ruud completed a hat-trick of ATP titles in August 2021 when he won 3 tournaments in as many weeks. Ruud won the Swedish Open, Swiss Open and the Generali Open Kitzbühel to achieve this rare feat.
He became the first player to claim a hat-trick since Andy Murray, who won the Thailand Open, Japan Open and Shanghai Masters in 2011 in a span of 15 days. Casper Ruud also finished the year with five singles titles to his name.
Note: A hat-trick of titles refers to 3 consecutive tournaments on the ATP calendar, rather than 3 consecutive tournaments a player chooses to play at.
#7 Aslan Karatsev saving 23 break points to defeat Novak Djokovic
To say Aslan Karatsev had a great 2021 would be a massive understatement. The Russian made his Grand Slam debut, won his first ATP title and the Davis Cup, in addition to the Olympic mixed doubles silver.
He also went from No.112 at the beginning of the year to 18 by the end of it. But his biggest moment of 2021 came at the Serbian Open when he defeated Novak Djokovic to reach the finals.
The match lasted 3 hours and 35 minutes, as Karatsev defeated Djokovic 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in front of the Serb's home crowd in a stadium named after the Serbian. During the course of the match, Karatsev saved an impressive 23 break points and called it "his most important victory ever".
#6 Roland Garros unveiling a statue of Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal is undoubtedly a giant at Roland Garros. And this year Roland Garros unveiled a 3 metre tall statue of the Spaniard at the new entrance gate for the general public.
To honor Nadal and his 13 French Open titles, the French Tennis Federation entrusted sculptor Jordi Diez Fernandez to capture the essence of the former World No.1. The result is a flowing masterpiece made entirely of steel, capturing the Mallorca-born legend in his signature topspin-loaded forehand.
Nadal thanked the French Tennis Federation for the gesture, saying he was touched by what the FFT did for him:
"It means a lot. Having a statue within such a special place for our sport, in a place that is very special for me is something unique," Nadal said.
#5 Barbora Krejcikova and Maria Sakkari playing the longest ever women's semifinal at Roland Garros
Yet another player who had a wonderful 2021 and a great French Open in particular, was Barbora Krejcikova. The World No. 5 became the first woman in the last two decades to win both singles and doubles titles at Roland Garros.
But before she could win the singles title, she had to get past Maria Sakkari in the semifinal. The match lasted 3 hours and 18 minutes, the longest ever women's semifinal match in the history of the tournament.
Krejcikova saved a match point enroute to her 7-5, 4-6, 9-7 win, thus entering the Top 15 for the first time in her career. And while many thought she would be too tired to play the women's doubles semifinal after that match, she did play and even won the match in straight sets.
#4 Naomi Osaka lighting the Olympic flame at Tokyo
There are few bigger moments in the life of an athlete than representing their nation in their preferred sport. Only a select few go on to represent their nation at the Olympics, the pinnacle of sport.
Of those, only a handful are fortunate enough to be able to light the Olympic cauldron, because it is not simply the best athlete, but one who "represents the Olympic ideals" who is chosen for this task.
This year, Naomi Osaka became the first ever tennis player to be bestowed with the honor.
Osaka posted about the moment on Twitter, where she wrote, ""Undoubtedly the greatest athletic achievement and honor I will ever have in my life. I have no words to describe the feelings I have right now but I do know I am currently filled with gratefulness and thankfulness."
#3 Pablo Carreno Busta defeating Novak Djokovic for the Olympic bronze medal
2021 was building up to be Novak Djokovic's best ever year, until the Tokyo Olympics. The World No. 1 suffered back-to-back heartbreaks, first against Alexander Zverev in the semifinals and against Pablo Carreno Busta to miss out on the bronze medal as well.
Carreno Busta needed six match points and close to three hours to edge out the Serb 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 to win a bronze medal for Spain. Speaking to Spanish media later, he called it the biggest achievement of his career and that even though it was only a bronze medal, he said it felt like he had won the gold.
“It’s a bronze medal, but for me it’s like a gold. I haven’t won the tournament, but it’s the best title of my career," Pablo Carreno Busta said.
#2 Emma Raducanu becoming the first ever qualifier to win the US Open
No one in the Open Era had ever won a Grand Slam title coming from the qualifiers. That is 54 years and 214 Majors without a qualifier winning the title until Emma Raducanu at the US Open in 2021.
Before Raducanu, 6848 qualifiers had tried to win a Grand Slam, but they had all failed where the 18-year-old from Britain succeeded. She also became the first British woman in 44 years to win a Slam and the youngest since Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon 2004.
Moreover, she did all this without losing a set and without a single set going into a tiebreak.
#1 Two Golden Slams completed on a single day
Novak Djokovic missed out on the Golden Slam in 2021 but this year did witness two Golden Slams on the same day -- 12 September 2021.
Dylan Alcott and Diede De Groot won the Golden Slam in the Quad men's singles and the women's singles wheelchair event respectively on the same day hours apart, and went on to make history.
Wimbledon introduced the Wheelchair category only in 2016 and the Quad category in 2019. Thus, the Golden Slam has been made possible only this year, making the achievement even more significant for De Groot and Alcott.
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