Thiem wins the US Open.
Thiem was 27 when he won his first Major, and he’s the youngest reigning Major champion. I think that speaks for itself about the state of men’s tennis 2020.
The final versus Sascha Zverev was thrilling, but for all the wrong reasons.
Still, it’s hard to criticise those two men playing to be the first Non big 3 slam winner since USO ’16 (Wawrinka) in the latter half of 2020.
With no live audience bar entourage and tennis people and New York anything but preoccupied with glamor and entertainment, there probably won’t ever be a slam won in stranger and sadder circumstances.
The US Open being held at all
Wimbledon had its back covered with insurance. But the US Open with no such coverage, went ahead and held the event and they managed to stage it amid all the chaos.
There were hiccups and some upset players, but the tournament got played and tennis fans got their fix, and when it’s the fans footing the bill with their wallets and eyeballs, all credit to the USTA for getting that service done.
Nadal winning Slam No.20.
Personally, the GOAT debate for me is like arguing the toss before the coin has landed. Still, Nadal matched Federer at 20 and distanced himself further from Djokovic. In the final he bagelled the Serbian in the first set and then took the match in a manner you’d expect of the finest player to ever play in Paris.
Coric d. Tsitsipas
The Next Gen are not so next gen anymore. Whoever they are, Coric and Tsistsipas put on perhaps the contest of the year in the USO fourth round with Coric saving match points to win in five.
The DQ
Djokovic’s default in the US Open QF versus Pablo Carreno Busta was one of those head spinning moments you get in tennis now and then.
I’m a convert to this format and event. The team spirit really does elevate the stakes and the players all seemed 100% invested.
Australian Open final
It’s easy to fall into the trap of labeling every five set slam final as a classic, and this could be one of those traps. However, for about thirty minutes, I really believed it was finally going to happen, that a player not of the Big 3 was going to win a slam and beat a Big 3er in the final.
It never happened, but I believed, and that itself has been a rare event.
The Adria Tour Debacle
It’s not pro tennis, but in the void, this debacle happened. Tennis did not have a good look in the pandemic and this was the height of showcasing how ridiculous young millionaires can be.
Rublev Rising
Rublev had everyone talking at both the start and end of the season. The Russian just likes winning and he delivers pretty much every other tournament. He won 6 events over the year. None of them were ‘Big titles’, but for a player in his early 20s, he’s doing well.
Federer’s run to the AO SF.
As the weeks tick by, these Federer runs get more and more precious. The five set wins versus Milman and Sandgren were compulsive viewing. The first set versus Djokovic in the semis was a brief moment of what if.
Federer’s run did come to a sudden stop in that semi as his travails and opponent caught up with him, but he once again gave his fans something to savor in what has become a long and delicious banquet.
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