Skills tactics and survival at AO 2025
View(s):For the first time Australian Open (AO), the first of the four annual Grand Slam events in the calendar started on a Sunday, January 12. The 128 Singles players in each gender began their march for the coveted Australian Singles titles. The event has 18 draws, 796 players from 68 nations are participating. AO this year carries a prize money of 96.5 million Australian dollars. Event has the partnership of 37 companies to carry the financial and logistic burden.
AO 120 years in the making
Well-tuned and seasoned organisational layout of AO has an antiquity going back to 1905. An event 120 years in the making. A local event back in time now reaches millions around the world. Event excites and entertains. Australia is one of the four ground zeros of tennis. Their present courts are a pioneering effort to provide an alternative to traditional grass and clay. Hard courts give easy maintenance, secret behind the growth of the game worldwide. Unlike in the past, play not suspended because of their summer heat but moved indoors. A good few state of the art indoor courts provide perfect conditions for players to perform when the temperatures soar. These carry the names of the Australian players. Rod Laver arena is one such stadium, the last man to win the Grand Slam in tennis.
2025 Men’s field – Joao Fonseca
Most of the known big names of the past not present in the 2025 draw. The remnant few, still a force, will face the new era players and their lethal angular stroke making development with assertive personality. On the third day a star was born. Joao Fonseca of Brazil, 18 years of age, beat seasoned world No.9 Russian Andrey Rublev. Fonseca follows the footsteps of his famous compatriots Thomas Koch, Edison Manderino and Gustavo Kuerton. [Maria Estella Bueno (1939-2018) she made South America to be another tennis continent].
Big ATP names
The leading names in 2025 Men are Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and another 11 with them. Their representation covers all the continents. Player survival in the first week has no guarantee. Post Covid tennis has come up with very effective, expressive game and impressive exponents of tennis. Tennis has changed in all its aspect in the last 25 years. Vibrancy, speed and adaptations on court and in scoring, are add on to its original, it is thrilling.
Players from Asian and Origin
Players of Asian and Asian origin have increased in the ATP/WTA ranking and so to say in the Grand Slam main draw. From Central Asia through to date line of Asia tennis is played.
Thailand’s Kasidit Samre, given the wild card entry, lost gallantly in five sets to Top 5 ATP ranked Daniil Medvedev. India’s Sumit Nagel has a great game was unable to sustain it to his advantage, lost to Tomas Machac of Czech Republic. Nagal, more of a Doubles player, had Singles court orientation issues and sustaining long rallies Singles demand. I feel he can go up if physical attributes addressed.
An American with Indian origin was Nihesh Basava-Reddy. Ranked 107 in ATP, he lost to Djokovic having won the first set. He is 19-years of age and a US citizen. Creditably many Chinese players entered the main draw. Soon a big timer will appear. Japan has one of the steady stream in tennis elite line up supply. They feature often in third round. Naomi Osaka is a Japanese player.
Lebanese Hady Habib won the first round of Australian Open beating Y. Bu of China, in straight sets. Habib is 26-years old. He was in the Lebanese Davis Cup team that played in Colombo.
WTA line up
Iga Swiatek returned from a layoff. Her past performance holding good, kept her at No.2 in the WTA ranking. Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus has taken the helm. Along with her, fresh 10 have taken hold with Zheng of China firmly in it. Top 10 has many very young players. Coco Gauff, Jasmini Paulini, Elena Rybakina. Jessica Pegula share the Top 10 of the WTA ranking.
Sporting thrills
Thrills and less-skills has taken hold in all sports. Many of the finer skill refinements challenging body and mind in sports are inherent in tennis and of eternal appeal. Change of format is in a way is discounting these on the long run.
An ardent cricketer told me changes in cricket has made it into ‘elle’, a village festive sport. Betting in sports is open since of late. Format are oriented towards daily turnover. Law permits it. Making sports into daily lottery. [According to him, every sixer, is a bowler/batsman fixer. I do not know if it so or not. An extreme statement I believe].
Local TV broadcast is giving us a ringside view of the Australian Open. In many ways, it is better that attending the event in person. Even in Australia, they say TV gives more than attending the event in Melbourne.
–George Paldano, European and Asian competition player; Coach German Tennis Federation; National coach Brunei and Sri Lanka; Davis Cup, Federation Cup coach, coached ATP, WTA and ITF ranked players in Europe and Asia; WhatsApp +94775448880–