"The tournament here is intense and arduous, the players have to drop everything, start again, face the rising sun, usher in a new day, and a new season, welcome to Xintiandi, welcome to the Australian Open." As depicted in the Rolex Australian Open promotional video, at the beginning of the new year, tennis players from all over the world once again gathered in Melbourne in the southern hemisphere to compete for a new round of fierce competition for their career tennis dreams.
Rolex clock outside rod laver
Pictured: Rolex/Antoine Couvercelle
This is the 15th year of rolex's partnership with the Australian Open, and since 2008, Rolex has served as the timepiece and co-sponsor of the Australian Open Conference, and since then, the Rolex Clock has become a prominent presence in Melbourne Park. As the watch brand most closely associated with the sport of tennis, Rolex and tennis were first linked to Wimbledon in 1978, and now Rolex has reached a partnership with all four Grand Slams, and has been committed to supporting tennis stars, top events and international organizations for more than four decades.
Breaking the record, Nadal won his 21st Grand Slam title
With Nadal coming to the net to score the ball in response, the long men's singles final finally came to an end, and also declared the 2022 Australian Open a perfect end. A Rolex timer on the sidelines showed a race duration of 5 hours and 24 minutes, at which point Melbourne had crossed midnight to 1:11am local time. At the awards ceremony, Nadal said with the words "Good evening everyone, oh no, it should be good morning!" As an opening statement, it will cause the audience to laugh.
Nadal won the 2022 Australian Open men's singles title
Photo: Visual China
In stark contrast to the ease of the moment is the tension that lingers over the past five hours or so on the Rod Laver Pitch. It was a classic counterattack destined to go down in history, the No. 6 seed, the 35-year-old Nadal, burst out with amazing energy in the desperate situation of falling behind 0-2 in the big score, and finally won three sets in a row, defeating the No. 2 seed Medvedev at the tournament 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5, and lifting the Australian Open men's singles championship trophy - Norman Brooks Challenger Cup for the second time since 2009, and achieving the feat of double-lap full-time slam. More significantly, this is Nadal's 21st Grand Slam men's singles title trophy, which has led him to surpass Federer and Djokovic's 20 titles and dominate the number of men's tennis Grand Slam singles titles.
Although the record was broken, Rolex spokesperson Federer still sent sincere congratulations to his old friend and old rival Nadal for the first time after the game, and the Swiss king wrote from the bottom of his heart: "An incredible game, never underestimate the heart of a champion, a few months ago we were still on crutches (both just had surgery), your incredible work ethic, dedication and fighting spirit are an inspiration to me and countless people around me, and I am proud to share this great tennis era with you." ”
After the award ceremony, Rolex spokesperson and 83-year-old Australian tennis legend Rod Laver also personally congratulated Nadal again in the backstage of the event and highly praised the fighting spirit of the Spanish star. Looking back at the century of international tennis, only four male players have achieved singles doubles Grand Slam achievements, Rod Lavo and Nadal are two of them, the other two are Roy Emerson and Djokovic.
Ending the wait, Barty broke the domestic women's singles championship drought
To the delight of local fans, the host players handed over a good report card at this year's Australian Open. In the women's singles field, the world's first Barty showed great dominance, with a perfect record of seven games without losing a set, of which the final with the United States player Collins was the most difficult, Barty in the second set 1-5 behind the situation to bite the bullet to achieve a rebound, and finally won 6-3, 7-6 (2) scores, the new season has not been defeated so far.
Barty lifted the 2022 Australian Open women's singles title trophy
This is the third Grand Slam women's singles title trophy of Barty's career, followed by the 2019 French Open and the 2021 Wimbledon, and she has so far gathered three major slam titles of clay, grass and hard courts, and only Serena Williams has done it among the active female players. Barty's victory was significant for Australian tennis, breaking the 44-year championship drought of homegrown players in the Australian Open women's singles since O'Neal in 1978. At the award ceremony, Australian women's tennis star Gulagun made a surprise appearance and personally presented The Daphne Ackerhurst Memorial Cup to Barty.
In the men's doubles, two Australian pairs of division finals, Australian star players Kyrgios /Kokinakis with wild cards defeated compatriots Ebden/Pussell 7-5, 6-4 to win the Grand Slam doubles title for the first time. In women's doubles, the top seed, the Czech duo of Kregitkova / Snyakova, refused to go under the scoring and reversed the dark horse duo Danilina / Maya 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4, to win their fourth Grand Slam women's doubles title since the two worked together. In the mixed doubles match, the multinational duo Dodiger/Mladenovic successfully won the cup.
Youth soared, Rolex spokespeople broke through
For the Rolex Tennis Corps, this year's Australian Open has also gained, especially the two young "post-zero" youngsters who have made a major breakthrough in Melbourne, which makes people full of hope for their career prospects.
Rolex spokesperson Svatek
图：Rolex/David Gray
As the No. 7 seed in women's singles, Rolex spokesperson and Polish rising star Svatek soared all the way to the semifinals. In the first three rounds, Swatak advanced in two sets without bloodshed, and then in the fourth round and quarter-finals, she showed her tenacious will, reversing the barrier in two consecutive rounds, beating the two fierce players Costia and Kanepi respectively.
Although the semi-finals regretted the defeat to Collins, Swatek admitted that he had grown a lot at the Australian Open: "This is my first time to reach the final four of the Australian Open, thanks to everyone's support and encouragement for nearly two weeks, this is one of the most intense events I have ever played, and this experience has also made me stronger and more resilient." "At just 20 years old, Swatak has reached at least the second week in all of the last six Grand Slams, winning a championship, a semi-final four and a quarter-finals, and the future is promising.
Rolex spokesperson Sinar
图：Rolex/Jon Buckle
Also born in 2001, Italian tennis rookie and Rolex spokesperson Zinner also refreshed his best record at the Australian Open this year, as the 11th seed of the tournament, he lived up to expectations to reach the quarterfinals, on the way to the promotion he defeated Sosa, Johansen, Daniel Taro, DeMinal and other good players, and finally lost to Tsitsipas. It was the second time in his career that Henner had reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, and with this outstanding performance, he returned to the top ten of the world and was the youngest in the top ten. Before leaving Australia, Sina wrote on social media: "Thank you Australia, I will be back again!" ”
As the first Grand Slam event of the year, the Australian Open has always attracted much attention, and more than two weeks ago, the 2022 Australian Open kicked off in this anticipation. Melbourne's sun is shining, the players are going all out, the 14 days of competition are fleeting, the Australian Open not only staged a fierce and colorful peak showdown, but also left people with unlimited reverie space on and off the court, and finally left a wonderful and meaningful tennis Grand Slam event for fans around the world.
(Text: He Song)