The Australian Open, one of four grand slams that occurs every year, is one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world.  The best tennis players come from around the world to compete in Melbourne, Australia.  There are separate mens, womens, and doubles tournaments. 

The key players of the competition were Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and Naomi Osaka, who is a up-and-coming star in the tennis world.

The men’s final was a competition between two of the best men’s singles players in the world, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.  Many tennis fans were shocked to see the winner of the past two Australian Opens, Roger Federer, lose to 16 people.  

“I was utterly shocked to see that Roger Federer lost.  He has been so dominant thus far, and to lose to Tsitsipas was truly unexpected,” said sophomore Isaac Goldstein.  

Djokovic absolutely dominated the final by winning three straight sets 6-3, 6-2, and 6-3.  In a sweep, he clinched his seventh championship title in Melbourne.  Djokovic won 81 percent of his first serves and 84 percent of his second serves.  He also served a total of eight aces throughout the match.  

Nadal was not able to compete with Djokovic.  He now has 15 grand slam titles, winning three just this year.  With this, Djokovic has proven that he is a dominant force in the tennis world.  However, Nadal has also proven to be a good competitor in the past and plans on redeeming himself in upcoming competitions.  

The women’s championship was a closer competition than the mens, with Osaka coming out on top.  She was able to defeat Petra Kvitová in three sets, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 in order to prevail.  

Osaka won 76 percent of her first serves and 50 percent of her second serves.  She also had nine aces in the match.  Kvitová put up a fight by winning 71 percent of her first serves and 51 percent of her second serves.

Osaka is a young-and-upcoming tennis player, whose skills are doubted by some.  However, winning the Australian Open has helped her greatly in making a name for herself in the tennis world. 

The women’s tournament also surprised many tennis fans when they saw the favorite, Williams, go down to Karolína Plíšková in the quarter finals.  Plíšková later lost in the semifinals to the winner, Osaka. 

“When I saw that Serena Williams lost, I was shocked,” said sophomore John Hyde.  “She was the best in the world, and she lost to someone I had never heard of before.”  

Williams has made a recent comeback since having a baby in September 2017.  She has not won a championship since, but she is working her way towards one.  Williams wants to be able to make the full comeback and win a championship soon. 

The mixed doubles championship ended quickly when Barbora Krejčíková and Rajeev Ram defeated John-Patrick Smith and Astra Sharma in two sets.  Krejčíková and Ram dominated the competition, winning 78 percent of their first serves and 64 percent of their second serves.

They also combined for four aces compared to only one from their competitors Smith and Sharma.  The two were not a force to be reckoned with throughout the entire tournament, and only lost a total of two sets.

Overall, even though the championship games were not very close, the tournament itself was very competitive and enjoyable for all the participants.