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Daniil Medvedev wins the last point of the 2020 crown season, in which Roger Federer only played six games. The movie-ready year is fast-forwarding.
The last winner of the season: Daniil Medvedev with the ATP Finals Cup in London.
Photo: Frank Augstein (Keystone / AP Photo)
No one knows what the year of tennis 2020 would have been like without Corona. Starting in March, professional operations were suspended well into the summer, and ultimately the number of tournament cancellations was greater than the number of events that actually took place. Before the full outbreak of the pandemic, Roger Federer had said goodbye to the tour due to an operation on his right knee in February.
He had wanted to return to Wimbledon, but things turned out differently: Wimbledon was the victim of the pandemic, and Federer’s knee needed a second operation as well as a much longer therapy than planned. While the 39-year-old goes to the lake, the mountains and his new hobby – Sell shoes – Retired, his sport experienced the most extraordinary season in years, on and off the court. What should be withheld?
Medvedev’s grand finale
2020 became the year of Dominic Thiem’s breakthrough. True, he lost his third Grand Slam final against Novak Djokovic in Melbourne in January. But at the US Open it worked. Although he gave up the first two sets in the final against Alexander Zverev, he won his first Grand Slam title. In the ATP final, which ended on Sunday for the twelfth and final time in London (2021 will be in Turin), the 27-year-old Austrian appeared to be on track to crown the season for the second time. After eliminating Novak Djokovic 7: 5, 6: 7, 7: 6 in the semi-finals, he found his master in Daniil Medvedev. The Russian, who won his first title of the season at Paris-Bercy, won 4: 6, 7: 6 (7: 2), 6: 4 after 2:43 hours. Medvedev also beat Zverev, Djokovic, Schwartzman and Nadal en route to the biggest title. “It’s good that the first and last ATP final in London were won by the Russians,” Medvedev said, referring to Nikolai Davidenko, who won the London premiere in 2009.
Nadal’s height in Paris
Endless success story: Rafael Nadal won the French Open for the thirteenth time, which carried over to the fall of this year.
Photo: Aurelien Meunier (Getty Images)
The dead live longer. A short race had not been predicted as often as Rafael Nadal. At 34, the Mallorcan continues to play and win. He could afford to skip the US Open and instead your new yacht to go for a walk. When the French Open was finally held four months late, he was fully back and, after complaining about the new balls, he secured the 13th Coupe des Mousequetaires. With his 20th Grand Slam Cup, he has now caught up with the record holder Federer for the first time.
Djokovic out of control
The incident that led to the disqualification: Novak Djokovic takes over from linesman Laura Clark, whom he previously hit with a ball.
Photo: Al Bello (Getty Images)
The year started brilliantly for Novak Djokovic with his 17th Grand Slam title, the 8th at the Australian Open, but it only got worse afterward. Although he also won the tournaments in Dubai, Cincinnati, and Rome, 2020 was chaos for him. Especially through the Adria tour, which she organized in the midst of the pandemic, as if the corona virus did not exist. There were several infections right away, including from him and his wife, as well as from various players (like Dimitrov, Coric, Troicki). He experienced the lowest point of the year in New York, where he was disqualified in the round of 16 after hitting a linesman with a ball that was knocked down.
Williams star is falling
The 24th Grand Slam title and with it Margaret Court’s record has moved in the distance: Serena Williams is slowly running out of time.
Photo: Daniel Pockett (Getty Images)
Serena Williams won her first WTA title as a mother in Auckland earlier in the year. His 23rd stage was five years ago, and the 24th seems more distant than ever. In 2020 he was still able to reach a semi-final at the Grand Slam level, who lost to Azarenka in New York. Meanwhile, Japan’s Naomi Osaka won her third Grand Slam trophy in New York. The most important resignations of the year concern Maria Sharapowa, Carolina Wozniacki and Julia Görges.
Zverev eckt an
Athletic on the rise, but recovered from the past: Zverev’s private life is in the headlines.
Photo: Andy Rain (Keystone)
Alexander Zverev will be demonstrating in an exemplary way in 2020 how you can damage your image. As soon as he had promised to go into quarantine after the Adriatic tour, videos appeared on social media that left him in the south of France. showed at a beach party. In the fall, his private life made headlines twice: at virtually the same time it emerged that he was expecting a child from one of his ex-girlfriends and was accused by another of Having physically beaten her and humiliated the soul that even attempted suicide in Geneva in 2019.
Two new and Osaka
A woman for great opportunities: Sofia Kenin won the Australian Open out of nowhere and was also in the final of the French Open.
Photo: Lee Jin-man (Keystone)
Since the end of February, the Australian Ashleigh barty He no longer played, but the 24-year-old Australian continues to lead the modified world rankings. Even more extreme: Canadian Bianca Andreescu never competed in 2020, but continues to salute her from seventh place as many 2019 results have yet to be eliminated due to the Corona break. Belinda Bencic (8: 8 game record), who slipped to 12th place in the new year, was also inactive. The second Swiss woman in the Top 100 is Jil Teichmann at 57th place, who won 16 of her 29 games. The American became a shooting star Sofia Kenin, who won the Australian Open and at the French Open against the sensation of the Polish tournament Iga Swiatek lost in the end. The third Grand Slam title of the season was won in New York Naomi osaka.
Swiss Juniors shine
Big moment for young Swiss tennis players: Dominic Stephan Stricker (right) accepts the congratulations from his Zurich friend Leandro Riedi after the Roland Garros junior final.
Photo: Alessandra Tarantino (Keystone)
He had promised her a lot, in 2002 born in the offspring of Swiss tennis. And although Wimbledon and most of the season were canceled, they delivered. Dominic Stricker from Bern and Leandro Riedi from Zurich won the junior title at the French Open between them. The winner Stricker is now in third place in the youth world ranking, Riedi, who is also 18 years old, is still in sixth place and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg of Zurich is in 15th place. Stricker received recognition from the ATP an invitation to serve as a sparring partner to the stars at the season finale in London.
The fronts harden
2020 was also a troubled year in terms of tennis politics. Novak Djokovic and Canadian Vasek Pospisil opened a gap on the scene with the union “Professional Tennis Players Association”, which they founded on their own initiative. They encountered a correspondingly high level of rejection and resistance, even from ATP. as well as Roger Federers and Rafael Nadals. Tensions escalated in London between the fields now.
Wawrinka can and still wants
Stan Wawrinka, 35, was one of the few who voluntarily waived the trip to the US Open. He parted ways with successful coach Magnus Norman and he made people sit down and take notice with cryptic comments about the upcoming end of his career. After all, after Roger Federer, at 35, he is also the oldest player among 20. At Paris-Bercy, however, he shone in the last tournament on his way to the quarter-finals with a win against Andrej Rublew. . and made it clear that he wants to attack fully again with coach Daniel Vallverdu in 2021.
Honorable mention
At the end of the short review, some honorable mentions. For the 24-year-old from Zurich Marc-Andrea Hüsler for his foray into the top 150 of the world rankings. For Jannik Sinner, a 19-year-old from South Tyrolean, who finished the season in Sofia with his first ATP title and is the youngest player in the Top 100 to rank 37. For Diego Schwartzman, who shows that at 1.70 m there is no you have to be too small to be in the top 10. For Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, 22, who finished the season with two tournament victories in Ostrau and Linz and as number 10. And for Russian Andrei Rublew, 22, who won five tournaments.
