MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Dressed in a dark blue T-shirt emblazoned with Roger Federer’s name and pushing a gray stroller carrying her one-year-old daughter Martina (as Hingis) down the lobby of Rod Laver Arena at the ‘Australian Open Angelica Ibarra speaks for many tennis fans, said when describing her mood on the first day of Grand Slam action as two of the sport’s most notable athletes ended their careers.
“I grew up watching Roger play, so for me tennis IS Roger and Roger IS tennis,” said Ibarra, who said he is Colombian and now lives in Melbourne. “It’s a bit emotional not to see Roger again in tennis. I also like women’s tennis, and the Williams sisters aren’t there either. But I’m really excited to see the next generation of emerging talent. This is the first time I see new players.”
The 2023 edition of the Australian Open, which kicked off on a cloudy Monday morning (Sunday evening EST), is certainly not the first Grand Slam tournament to be played without Roger Federer or Serena Williams.
It was also the name of a single instance of the 2022 edition of the Australian Open.
What’s different now is that this is the first major tournament since Federer and Williams – two big, lifelike personalities with 41 and 43 combined Slam singles championships and multiple weeks of rankings #1 – have announced their retirement (or, to use his preferred term, “evolve”).
“They were amazing for the sport. They are still there. You would think that these people would never retire, in a way. And watching them puts things into perspective,” said 21-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu, who beat Williams in the 2019 US Open final 6-2, 6-4 against 25th seed Mary Bozkova. Monday. . “Roger hadn’t played for a long time before his retirement, and even then it was a bit strange. Serena was also a bit up and down.
So in years past, one absence or another would translate to “don’t worry, he’ll be in the next one” or “hey, he’ll definitely be back, right?” Now, there’s a solidity about it, a finite knowing that they’re truly over. (No matter how many people keep looking for signs that Williams isn’t really, really done.)
“Listen, Serena Williams is irreplaceable. I mean, she’s an icon both on and off the court,” said Steve Simon, head of the women’s tennis circuit. “The way I see it: I don’t see Serena as a loser; We’re just going to celebrate him and all of his accomplishments for many, many years and reflect on what he brought to the game.”
Similar sentiments can and have been expressed about Federer.
“Obviously,” eight-time major champion John McEnroe said of Federer, “there is a void that will never be filled.”
Yet the sport must continue.
So when the proceedings begin on Melbourne’s hard blue courts, faces blink and the game fills in the gaps.
Players chasing a first Grand Slam title, such as a pair of top-10 ranked Americans Coco Gough and Jessica Pegula, prevailed in straight sets in the match which started shortly after 11 a.m. local time . Like Janic Sinner, the 21-year-old is an Italian who seems to have a chance of finally reaching the top. Next up: Federer’s longtime rival, top seed Rafael Nadal, is still 36 and holds a men’s record 22 Grand Slam trophies.
Even other players find it a bit boring to scrutinize the Australian Open draw and know well that there is no point in looking for the names of Federer or Williams.
“Of course, it’s weird. They were great athletes, great players, legends of the game. But tennis goes on, and there are new players to look for, new players who are going to win Grand Slams,” said Kasper Ruud, head of Norwegian series no. 2 in Melbourne and finalist at Roland-Garros and in the United States. Opened last season. “Hopefully we will see more first-time winners. It would be a dream come true.”
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Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter https://twitter.com/HowardFendrich
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AP-Tennis : https://apnews.com/hub/tennis Et https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
