"Karma" by Medvedev
One of the topics for discussion in the last days of the Australian Open was the episode at the end of the semi-final match between Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev. It seemed that the Russian shouted the word “karma” to his coaching staff several times after the victory. And this is nothing more than a reference to the Netflix series Break Point, in which the German tennis player gave an interview that was not the most pleasant for a Russian. In it, Zverev admitted that he believes in fate, and if you wish something bad for a person, it will happen.
The German does not like the Russian because he considers him a dishonest player. According to Alexander, it is unethical to take medical or toilet breaks, review replays of plays at key moments of the match, thus trying to bring down the opponent’s mood.
However, at the press conference, Medvedev was shocked by the reaction to this episode on social networks and tried to convince others that he was saying something completely different. True, he did not specify what the words actually were.
“No, no, that’s not what I said at all. I tried not to go on Twitter, but I did and everyone was writing about it. I thought, my God. As I just said, I don't want that. It's like you're trying to hurt someone in some way, and then somebody hits you back, and you hurt someone. I had such moments, probably most often with Tsitsipas, and although we are not friends, now, I think, we respect each other more than before. So it's the same here. It concerned my team, something about the mood. This has nothing to do with karma. I wouldn’t do that,” Medvedev said at a press conference.
Daniel also explained how he feels about the nickname Octopus. As it turned out, it was invented by Andrei Rublev.
“I don’t really like it. But it’s funny - friends started giving my daughter toy octopuses. In Russian my last name means “bear”. I like this better. But if they call me an “octopus,” it’s okay,” the athlete admitted in an interview on the court.
Memes from Rublev
Andrei Rublev failed to overcome the quarterfinal barrier of a Grand Slam tournament for the tenth time at the Australian Open. However, with his play he gave the fans a lot of emotions: from joy after matches with Thiago Wilde and Alex de Minaur to disappointment from the confrontation with Jannik Sinner.
In this meeting, the Russian tennis player did not succeed in many things, and the tiebreaker in the second game was especially disastrous, in which Andrei led 5:1 and lost. During the break before the third set, Rublev himself did not seem to understand how this happened, showing someone in the stands the numbers with his fingers, and then gave up on everything. This frame with a capacious Russian swear word has already gone viral on the Internet and turned into a meme, like several previous episodes.
On the other hand, it should be noted that this time there were no broken rackets or broken knees.
Queen Qingwen
As it turned out, 21-year-old Zheng Qingwen, who reached the final of the Australian Open, is already trying to make as much money as possible from advertising contracts. Over the past year, she has become an ambassador for several Chinese companies and a popular sports drink, and has also starred for large glossy publications.
At the same time, the athlete is distinguished by her openness in communication with journalists and fans. For example, in 2022, she did not hesitate to partially attribute an unsuccessful match against Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros to menstrual pain. And recently she sang karaoke at the awards ceremony of a home tournament in Zhengzhou in front of an impressive audience. Zheng also enjoys dancing and drawing, although she does not consider herself particularly successful at either of these.
Interestingly, Zheng Qingwen has several nicknames: Queen Wen, Fire and Rocket Girl. The athlete herself, according to her, doesn’t care what they call her. The main thing is that everyone understands who we are talking about.
Reaching Yastremskaya
Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska wrote her name in the history of the Australian Open. The 23-year-old tennis player started the major with qualifications and managed to reach the semi-finals, where she lost to Zheng Qingwen.
This hasn't happened in Melbourne for 46 years, and in general at a women's Grand Slam tournament this is only the fifth time in the Open era that qualifying athletes have managed to go this far. Miracles were performed by Emma Raducanu at the US Open 2021, Nadia Podoroska at Roland Garros in 2020, Alexandra Stevenson at Wimbledon 1999 and Christine Matheson at the Australian Open 1978.
Believe inscription on Sabalenko's bottle
Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka competes at the Australian Open for the second year in a row with a water bottle with a piece of paper with the word Believe on it. This is a reference to the popular TV series Ted Lasso. This is exactly the sticker the coach placed above the door in the locker room shortly after joining Richmond. In the wake of the popularity of the serial film, the word Believe has massively penetrated the world of real sports.
Arina generally loves inscriptions: throughout the tournament she signed an autograph on the bald head of her coach Jason Stacey, so the journalists even suggested that he get a tattoo for good luck. However, the specialist promised a new feature at each tournament.
And at the end of the Australian Open, the Belarusian threw a grand party. At the hotel, everyone involved in Sabalenka’s triumph danced happily with the trophy. Last year, according to Arina, after the victory the team got pretty drunk with joy. And the wife of the athlete’s agent ended up twisting her ankle and went to the airport in a chair with a cast. This time, Arina promised to make sure that both her feet were taped and secured. The tennis player also took part in a champion photo shoot, wearing a beautiful white dress.
Djokovic doesn't believe in the beginning of the end
One of the sensations of the Australian Open was the defeat of Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. The Serbian, who has not lost on the courts of Melbourne since 2018, failed to earn a single break point on Jannik Sinner’s serves. Evil tongues immediately decided to write off the legendary tennis player. But at 36 years old, he is not going to sheath his racket.
“I will hold on as long as I want, as long as I can defeat them (Rune, Alcaraz and Sinner. -
RT
) on the big stage. When they start giving me a hard time, I'll probably think about taking a little break or maybe leaving professional tennis for good. This tournament wasn't up to my standards, but it doesn't necessarily spell the beginning of the end for me as some would say. I have big goals for the rest of the season. I usually start the year differently, but I have other Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympic Games ahead. We’ll wait and see,” said the athlete.
Nick Kyrgios is not going anywhere either. He had to refute words from his own column, which was published in The Age. In the post, the Australian said his time in the sport “may have come to an end.”
“This topic needed to be raised. “I’m at a crossroads in my career and I’ve reached a point where the prospect of moving on after tennis excites me,” the former world number 11 wrote.
The media, naturally, took this as a desire to leave tennis soon.
“Attention... I am not leaving the sport. Please don't spread this nonsense. I’ll be back and soon I’ll be rocking the courts again,” Kyrgios wrote on social networks.
But then I decided that this was not enough, so I additionally posted a video in which I once again promised to return to the tour.
“Yes, the last year was difficult due to injuries - knee, wrist. But I’m in a fighting mood as never before, I continue to recover, I go to the gym. One of the reasons I commentate on Australian Open matches and related issues is because I still want to feel that fire and be a part of tennis. So I'm telling all my fans that I'm coming back. Follow the news. I still have a lot of strength left, don’t worry,” Nick added.
Great reaction from SKA
Meanwhile, St. Petersburg SKA found its fans even on the courts in Melbourne. The press service of the hockey team, during the broadcast of the Medvedev-Zverev semi-final, drew attention to a fan in a cap with the club emblem and reacted with lightning speed, posting a post on social networks: “Do they like hockey at the Australian Open? Well, yes, yes."
Unusual victory celebration
The junior singles competition at the Australian Open was won by 17-year-old Japanese Rei Sakamoto and 16-year-old Slovakian Renata Jamrihova. At the same time, the young man first of all drew attention to himself.
He became the first representative of the Land of the Rising Sun to win at the youth level in Melbourne, and decided to celebrate his success in a specific way: the athlete got down on one knee in the middle of Rod Laver Arena, wearing a cowboy hat (probably he couldn’t find a national headdress), and pulled out an imaginary sword.
The oldest TBS winner
The Australian Open in men's doubles was marked by another record. The tournament was won by Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden, who prevailed in the decisive match over Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori - 7:6, 7:5.
For the Indian representative, who will celebrate his 44th birthday in early March, this is his first Grand Slam title in doubles (he won Roland Garros in mixed doubles in 2017). For the 36-year-old Australian, this is the second: two years ago he won Wimbledon, and back in 2013 he took the AO title in mixed doubles.
Bopanna became the oldest Grand Slam champion in the Open era and, as of Monday, the oldest world number one in men's doubles.
Moreover, Rohan, according to him, could have ended his sports career some time ago.
“A couple of years ago I sent my wife a video message and said: “I’m going to retire.” Because I didn't win matches at all. For five months there was not a single victory. I thought this would be the end of my journey. But inner persistence did not allow me to stop. “I really changed a lot and found a wonderful partner,” the tennis player admitted in an interview on the court.