It was all about the kids at this year's Australian Open as Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Maria Sharapova of Russia, both just 20 years old, became the reigning men's and women's singles champions.
On Sunday, Djokovic, seeded third, took the court against 22-year-old Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga, an unseeded Frenchman on a Cinderella run who used aggressive play to reach his first ATP-level final, took a set from Djokovic before falling 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2). The win marked Djokovic's first Grand Slam title and his second appearance in a major final. His first was the 2007 U.S. Open.
Riding an extremely effective return of serve, arguably the best in men's professional tennis today, Djokovic cruised through his first six matches of the tournament without dropping a set. His most impressive win was a straight-set victory over top-seeded and defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals, ending the world No. 1's streak of consecutive appearances in Grand Slam finals at 10.
Tsonga had a mediocre professional tennis career leading up to his Australian Open final appearance; in fact, he had never reached any ATP final before. Ranked No. 38 in the world entering the tournament two weeks ago, Tsonga cracked into the top 20 after his Australian Open run, which included upsets over No. 8 Richard Gasquet of France, No. 14 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia and his capstone win, a straight-set dismantling of tournament and world No. 2 Rafael Nadal of Spain in the semis.
On the women's side, Sharapova downed Ana Ivanovich of Serbia 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday for her third major title. As the No. 5 seed, Sharapova's route to the title included wins over No. 1 Justine Henin of Belgium in the quarters, followed by a semifinal victory over No. 3 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, and then her finals win over fourth-seeded Ivanovich.
With the win, Sharapova made up for her lopsided loss in the 2007 Australian Open finals, when she was utterly dominated by Serena Williams, falling 6-1, 6-2. Williams failed to defend her crown and lost in straight sets in the quarterfinals to Jankovic.
Sharapova made short work of her opponents throughout the tournament, claming straight-set victories in all seven of her matches. The Russian now needs to win only the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam, having also claimed the 2006 U.S. Open and 2004 Wimbledon crowns.
Both wins had implications for the top of the world rankings. Federer has remained the world No. 1 for a record 209 consecutive weeks, but his status as the top-ranked player on tour may be in jeopardy. Djokovic's performance marked the first time since the 2005 Australian Open, won by Marat Safin, that a Grand Slam did not end with either Federer or Nadal as singles champions.
In addition to reaffirming that he is no longer just a rising star but a true competitor to the likes of the Big Two, Djokovic's victory presents compelling storylines to look forward to as the remainder of the 2008 season plays out. If Nadal wins his fourth consecutive French Open title, the next major event, in June and if Djokovic continues his blistering play, Federer might have his hands full maintaining his position at the top of the ladder.
While the odds still greatly favor Federer to win nearly every tournament he enters, his performance at Indian Wells and other Master Series events preceding the French Open against the likes of Nadal and Djokovic might give analysts and fans alike a better outlook on whether he can sustain his dominance for yet another season.
As for the women's circuit, there has been much more parity than the men's side in terms of Grand Slam winners and No. 1 players in recent years. Since Federer's reign atop the rankings began in February 2004, there have been five different women in the top spot. Sharapova's victory Saturday as the world's fifth best ensures that the rest of the year will witness a battle for the three remaining major titles.
Looking ahead, while there are a number of ATP and WTA events scheduled over the next two months, the next headlining tournament will be the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Calif. held in mid-March, the first ATP Masters Series and WTA Tier 1 of the season. It will likely feature most, if not all, of the top men's and women's talent and should provide a better indication of the type of year professional tennis will experience.
