Today's article focuses on two Grand Slam champions.
The first is Cilic. Born in 1988, he won his first and so far only Grand Slam title at the 2014 US Open against Kei Nishikori, and on August 22, 2016, the Croatian won his first Masters title at the Cincinnati Masters.
Looking closely at Cilic's achievements, there seems to be no more bright champions.
In this regard, the outside world's view is that the status of the Grand Slam champion has not yet been fully stimulated, after all, he has also reached the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals, just a few feet away from the championship.
In terms of rankings, Cilic came to the world's 3rd position on January 29, 2018, and then fell all the way down due to knee injuries, and now the singles ranking has slipped to 30th in the world.
2021 was a season in which Cilic recovered, with a total of 33 wins and 23 losses throughout the year, and won the 19th title of his career in Stuttgart against rising star Aliassim, and in October of the same year, he won his 20th title against Fritz in St. Petersburg.
At the upcoming Australian Open, Cilic is expected to lock in a seed spot and become a roadblock for many big-name players on the way to win the championship.
"I feel like I'm playing smarter now than I used to be," he said in an interview in Paris last fall, "I want to say that if I had started my career and been where I am now, I believe I would have won more Grand Slams." ”
Can Cilic win more Grand Slams? Let's wait and see for the new season!
Another player is four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, who finished in the top 5 in the year-end rankings for three seasons in 2018, 2019 and 2020, but slipped to 13th in 2021.
The Japanese suffered a lot of pressure in the 2021 season, because of depression and emotional distress, outspoken and did not accept post-game media interviews. Because of this incident, she has withdrawn from many important competitions such as the French Open and Wimbledon.
Considering that she has won a total of 4 times at the US Open and the Australian Open, as long as she adjusts her emotions, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that she will hit the Grand Slam again.
In addition, judging from the warm-up matches of the 2022 season, Naomi Osaka won three consecutive victories until the semi-finals were withdrawn due to injury.
Regarding the withdrawal, the outside world believes that Naomi Osaka's move is mainly to save the next Australian Open, after all, from the past participation records, the Japanese have a precedent for retiring from the warm-up match before the start of the Grand Slam, but in the end, without exception, they all won the final championship.
In addition to the hard-ground Australian Open and the US Open, in the new season, Naomi Osaka needs to break through most is red clay and grass.
'Success on all the grounds is still a top priority, and I'm already looking forward to clay and grass racing, and that's where I have to break through.'
So, are you optimistic that the Japanese will be able to bottom out in 2022? (Source: Tennis House Author: Wu Li Fun)