The upsets that shook the 2013 Australian Open

A sporting event is never complete without upsets. As much as they produce seismic shocks reverberating throughout the sports fraternity, upsets also have the power to spice up an entire tournament! The recently concluded Australian Open may have ended up with its defending champions reigning supreme but it was surely one peppered with upsets. Here’s a look back:

Maria Sharapova’s loss to China Na Li came as a shock to many,

(Upsets ranked in order of importance)

The Ladies

6. Just Like YesterdayKimiko Date-Krumm def Nadia Petrova (12) 6-2, 6-0 (First Round)

She had reached the Australian Open semi-finals…19 years back! On Day II of the year’s first Grand Slam, the ageless Kimiko Date-Krumm turned back the clock and the tables on her 12th seeded opponent Nadia Petrova, 12 years her junior. The unassuming 42-year-old who had called her longevity ‘a miracle’, entered the record books as the oldest woman to win a main draw singles match at Melbourne Park. Petrova had been coming off a hot streak herself winning three titles last year so this victory was definitely another of the Japanese’s ‘crazy’ achievements.

5. Never Gonna ChangeJie Zheng def Samantha Stosur (9) 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 (Second Round)

Some things never change in tennis just like Samantha Stosur’s perennial stage fright and astounding meltdown in Australia. Burden of expectation? Jittery Nerves? Or both? We’ll never know the answer but the 2011 US Open champion continued with her chokes before her home crowd even when she was just 2 points away from entering the third round. Up 5-2 in the third set, she let it all spin out of control and saw her 40th ranked opponent, a former Australian Open semi-finalist, clinch the next five games and the match. The Aussie who had never made it past the fourth round at her home Slam had been working with a sports psychologist since 2010 and it seems the partnership is yet to bear fruit.

4. Cry Me A RiverLaura Robson def Petra Kvitova (8) 2-6, 6-3, 11-9 (Second Round)

Tears, implosion, errors – the match had it all. The battle of the two lefties on Rod Laver Arena was anything but beautiful. For 3 hours the eighth seed and the promising Briton were locked in a battle of attritional tennis with the 2011 Wimbledon champion putting up a hapless display. With an unpredictable serve that accounted for 18 aces neutralized by 18 double-faults, she sobbed being match point down and struggled to bring back the form that took her to the semi-finals here last year. Laura Robson, all of 18 years, was no better producing as many as 12 double faults but at least she exhibited the composure and resilience that will take her a long way.

3. The Sun’s Stopped ShiningSvetlana Kuznetsova def Caroline Wozniacki (10) 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 (Fourth Round)

Miss Sunshine Caroline Wozniacki faded into yet another Grand Slam darkness in the fourth round against a player coming off a six-month layoff in 2012. The 10th seed who managed to avert her third straight Slam loss in the first round was not so fortunate against the two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. The affable Dane who has been hitting the headlines more for her off-court news off late, had her on-court misery compounded by a player who she had never lost to in Slams. A quite ‘unhappy’ Slam given she was atop the world rankings 12 months back!

2. When The Hunter Becomes The HuntedNa Li (6) def Maria Sharapova (2) 6-2, 6-2 (Semi-final)

She had been hunting down prey at will. Maria Sharapova cut an imposing figure at the year’s first Slam gobbling up opponents ruthlessly. Records kept tumbling – she matched Wendy Turnbull’s 1985 record of not conceding a single game in the first two rounds. Pundits couldn’t bet against a final featuring her. Yet when she finally blinked, she not just faltered but was totally obliterated by a super-confident Li Na, whose fearless forehands dwarfed the svelte Russian. Ouch! That was a nasty dose of her own medicine!

1.The Shocker Of The FortnightSloane Stephens (29) def Serena Williams (3) 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 (Quarter-final)

Sloane Stephens (L) celebrates winning her Quarterfinal match against Serena Williams

Nobody saw it coming, not even the mighty 15-time Grand Slam winner, Serena Williams. When she was asked about facing a precocious talent who worships her, the younger Williams claimed she too admired Sloane Stephens but she had nothing to lose. On the day of the quarter-finals, Serena lost her cool, her match and her dream of doing the second Calendar Slam of her career! Serena who had earlier rolled her ankle had her performance hampered by a back injury but one can never count out the American who has an illustrious record Down Under and had won 39 of her past 40 matches. The Serena juggernaut, quite expectedly, had rolled on in the first set but what followed next was beyond any tennis aficionado’s dreams. 19-year-old Sloane fought valiantly to earn the victory and afterwards her teary on-court interview gave evidence to what it meant to beat your own idol.

The Men

3. How Green Was My ValleyAndreas Seppi (21) def Marin Cilic (12) 6-7 (2), 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 (Third Round)

Rewind to Aussie Open 2010 and Marin Cilic had his best showing ever at a major by reaching the Aussie Open semi-finals. In 2013, the Croat faced the exit door far earlier being battered and bundled out by the surging Italian Andreas Seppi under the blistering Australian sun. It was a far cry from his US Open 2012 performance where he had reached the Round of 8. Seppi, who had grabbed the headlines by taking a two set lead before eventually succumbing to Novak Djokovic in the fourth round of French Open 2012, showed a lot of courage to claw his way back from a break down in the fifth set. For once, an Italian man overshone his female compatriots in the singles draw!

2. The French Are ComingJeremy Chardy def Juan Martin del Potro (6) 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 3-6, 6-3 (Third Round)

They came in full force at the year’s first Slam – 13 French men entered the singles main draw out of which four progressed to the fourth round and one of them, in doing so, devoured Juan Martin del Potro. The genial giant from Tandil had looked one of the most dangerous players having lost only 13 games in his first two rounds but in his third round encounter, the 2009 US Open champion and last year’s Aussie Open quarter-finalist struggled from the outset. After going down two sets to love, Del Potro did spring back to life taking the next two but his momentum was short-lived as former junior Wimbledon winner Chardy capitalized on a single break of serve in the decider to march into the Round of 16.

1. Yes, I Can! Andy Murray (3) def Roger Federer (2) 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 (Semi-final)

Andy Murray of Great Britain shakes hands with Roger Federer of Switzerland

Briton Andy Murray is one of only two active players to boast of a positive head-to-head record against the Swiss maestro Roger Federer but this was an upset by all means as this was the very first time the British No. 1 could finally overcome the 17-time Grand Slam champion in a major! After enduring the second out of his three straight Slam final defeats to the Swiss at the Melbourne Park in 2010, Murray had famously said: “I can cry like Roger, it’s just a shame I can’t play like him.” In 2013, the third seed had come to change all of that. Brimming with confidence and self-belief post Olympic and US Open glory, Murray came out of the blocks with an impeccable serve and punishing forehands. But he made it look so difficult as he gave enough space to the Swiss master to even things. In the decider, being the fresher of the two, Murray finally pulled down the curtains on Federer’s campaign who had come off a laboured five-set win over Tsonga in the earlier round.

The sizzling upsets Down Under certainly made heroes out of unheralded names and talented teens and they have definitely paved the way for a rollicking year ahead.