Tennis Triumph: 2021 season kicks COVID-19 to the curb in Adelaide

The 2021 season started off by kicking COVID-19 to the curb. The world’s best competed in exhibitions in Adelaide to prepare for the upcoming Australian Open in February.

The sight at Adelaide’s center court was certainly unusual. The venue, void of social distancing or even masks, was packed to the brim to watch some of the game’s brightest stars take the court to open the much-anticipated 2021 season. Australia’s approach to the season openers has been questioned by many on tour, especially those currently in Melbourne in quarantine.

Tight matches certainly pleased the crowd of 4,000. Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, the two biggest American stars, began the day with a tight three-setter. The former ultimately took the match over her compatriot 6-2, 2-6, 10-7 in a match not what you’d call perfect by any means.

"“Thanks everyone for having us. We honestly haven’t played in front of a crowd for over a year, it’s been a really long time, so this is really cool,” Williams said after her match."

Among the players was top-ranked Ashleigh Barty, who hasn’t stepped on the court for a tour-level match since the 2020 Australian Open. Barty took World No. 2 Simona Halep into a third set super tiebreak as the last match of the night but couldn’t get the job done, losing 3-6, 6-1, 10-8.

As for the men’s side, the game’s top three players all took part in exhibitions. Dominic Thiem and Rafael Nadal, winners of last year’s US Open and French Open, respectively, took each other on as the first of two night matches. The 20-time Grand Slam champion got his revenge after losing to Thiem at the ATP Finals in November in what was considered one of the Matches of the Year. This time, Nadal made quick work of the World No. 3, 7-5, 6-4.

by far the most interesting match of the day came in the day session. Novak Djokovic was set to take on rising star Jannik Sinner but due to blisters on his right hand, he was unable to take the court for the first set. Fellow Serb, Filip Kranjinovic, took his place for the opener, taking it 6-3. Djokovic then emerged like to raucous cheers from the crowd to tag-team the match for the second set. He took down Sinner with the same score.

"“I am sorry that I didn’t step on the court from the beginning, I had to do some treatment with my physio,” Djokovic told the crowd. “…I saw the crowds and the emotion was so strong for me to come out, I had to play.”"

While the game’s best prepare for the upcoming Australian Open in Adelaide (beginning February 8th), the large majority of those comepting are in Melbourne, waiting for the ATP Cup or the three WTA events starting this coming Sunday. With the 72 players soon expected to come out of hard quarantine after being in close contact with COVID-19 carrires on their charter flights, they will be given priority to the practice courts in the area.

Upcoming pre-Australian Open Tournaments (ATP & WTA):

01/31: Yarra Valley Classic (WTA 500)

01/31: Gippsland Trophy (WTA 500)

02/01: Great Ocean Road Open (ATP 250)

02/01: Murray River Open (ATP 250)

02/02: ATP Cup

02/03: Grampians Trophy (WTA 500)