Why are Serena Williams, Djokovic & Nadal chasing history at The Australian Open 2021
Players were quarantined and tested (literally everyday) but now it is show time, so no more testing. 30,000 spectators will be permitted on the stadiums per day, 50% of normal volume but 30,000 more than at the 2020 U.S. Open.
Forget about the micro stats like the aces or double-faults, unforced errors or winners, the focus in tennis these days is “Grand Slam titles won.” Which is why unprecedented interest is being built around the top seeds Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams at the 2021 Australian Open.
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Play begins at Melbourne Park on Monday 8th February 2021 (Sunday EST), with Williams and Djokovic among those in the day 1 draw and Nadal’s opening-round match set for day 2. Each match for the members of this trio is a probable step on the way to some record.
“People love records, don’t they?” said Chris Evert, an 18-time major champion who now is an ESPN analyst. “I, for one, think that too much is made of Grand Slam wins.”
This is Rafa’s opening to snatch sole possession of the men’s mark for most Grand Slam singles titles. He levelled the record with Roger Federer at 20 by winning the French Open in October, trouncing Djokovic in a lopsided final.
Nadal has been suffering with issues concerning his back over the last two weeks, which kept him out of the ATP Cup and hindered his practice.
“The muscle is still tight, so is difficult to play with freedom of movements,” he told a pre-tournament news conference Sunday. “Let’s hope (the) situation keeps improving.”
A second Australian Open title also would mean that Nadal becomes the first man in the Open era to win each Grand Slam tournament at least twice. He has 13 championships at the French Open, 4 at the U.S. Open, 2 at Wimbledon.
He still would have some catching up to do with Williams as she already has 23 Slam singles titles (plus fourteen in doubles and 2 in mixed doubles), the most by anyone in the Open era.
And even if Serena’s tour of her trophy room lit up social media, she made a point of clarifying she finds other ways to define her value and that her life is way more a trophy.
“My life is way more than a trophy. There’s way more to me than a championship,” said Williams, who turns 40 in September and last won a major title at the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant. “For me, every time I step on the court, I know I’m this tennis player, but at the same time I’m a mom, I’m a human.”
She lost in the 3rd round at Melbourne a year ago, then was impeded by an Achilles problem during a semifinal loss at the U.S. Open. That same issue compelled her to withdraw from the Roland Garros before the second round.
Djokovic is aiming at breaking his own record for most men’s titles at the Australian Open by getting the 9th one this year. An then he has to try to match Federer for most weeks at No. 1 in the ATP rankings, and finally he has to close the Grand Slam gap. Adding another Grand Slam title would give him 18 and with that he would still be trailing two behind Federer and Nadal. However, if he fails win to come out on top at the 2021 Australian Open then that Grand Slam gap may widen.
