Best Match, Biggest Surprise, Biggest Disappointment, Biggest Controversy: 2021 Tennis Awards

The 2021 season is in the books, and it’s time to look ahead to 2022, as the Australian Open will start in less than a month.

But before we turn our attention to the next season, what about the recognition for those who stood out this year?

We are handing out the 2021 tennis prizes from breakthroughs to big surprises…

Breakthrough player

If Carlos Alcaraz is able to build this season, he will be a force on the ATP tour for years to come. The 18-year-old won his first championship at Umag and earned top10 victories over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Berrettin and Jannik Sinner. His hand is a very destructive weapon, and the way he destroyed his rival in the next-generation final in Milan suggests he is ahead of the class.

There are a lot of competitors on the women’s side, and Barbora Krejcikova, Paula Badosa and Anett Kontaveit will rise in the rankings and earn their place in the season-ending WTA finals. Kontaveid’s success came mainly in the last quarter of 2021, when he went for an incredible victory, while Krejcikova and Badosa used more consistent campaigns. Apologies once again to Krejcikova, Badosa gets the nod after starting 70th in the year’s rankings and achieving the first title of his career, winning Indian Wells and surviving the ATP final semi-finals.

The best match

Naomi Osaka’s fourth-round win over Garbine Muguruza at the Australian Open was very entertaining, as was the Indian Wells final between Victoria Azarenka and Paula Badosa.

Stefanos Tsitsipas played in some zones against Novak Djokovic in the French Open final and against Andy Murray and Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open.

However, the playoffs must be a semi-final match between Djokovic and Nadal in the French Open.

It didn’t look like it would become a classic when Nadal roared to a 5-0 lead in the first set, but when Djokovic got into the match, the tennis hit heights were rarely seen. In the second and third rounds in particular, there were several enchanting rallies, with the two peaks pulling each other on the field, much to the delight of the audience at Court Philippe-Chatrier as they were allowed to stay after 11pm after the curfew. the completely exceptional nature of the circumstances ’.

After an incredible 98 minutes in the third set, Nadal led 2-0 in the fourth set, but Djokovic fought back and sealed a significant win.

“Definitely the best match I’ve ever played in Roland Garros for me,” he said afterwards. “And the three best matches I’ve played in my entire career.”

The biggest surprise

No surprises, it’s Emma Raducanu.

Achieving the fourth round of Wimbledon from scratch was impressive, but what he did at the US Open was incredible. Raducanu was consistently brilliant in New York, all the way to the finals (without losing a single one!), And his nerves rarely seemed visible as the opportunity grew and expanded. His beating was a pleasure to follow, and hopefully much more is coming from the British number one.

The biggest disappointment

He has been unhappy due to injuries, but Dominic Thiem had a season to forget.

He won just nine games, lost his favorite in the first round of the Grand Slam, reached just one semi-final, and his best win was three matches. At the age of 28, the 2020 U.S. Open champion still has time to return to the top table, but he will have to recover completely healthy in June after a wrist injury and then soon find his best shape again.

As for disappointment, Serena Williams ’first-round injury at Wimbledon stabbed her.

On the fitness issues of a few of his competitors, Williams seemed to have a decent chance to finally win his 24th Grand Slam title at the All England Club. But it only took 34 minutes against Aliaksandra Sasnovic before slipping on the lawn and injuring her ankle, leading to an emotional departure from Center Court, possibly for the last time.

It was also disappointing not to see Juan Martin del Porto back on the tennis court, hopefully this will change in 2022 as he recovers from the new surgery. But Thiem, you are the unfortunate recipient of this Gong.

The biggest controversy

It’s hard to cross the toilet break drama at the US Open, which was attended by Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Andy Murray was outraged by the time Tsitsipas spent out of court, accusing him of betrayal and saying he lost respect for the Greek. Even the next day, Murray was still going and tweeted, “The fact of the day. It takes Stefanos Tsitipas to go to the bathroom twice as long as Jeff Bazos flies into space.

There was a lot of discussion about whether Tsitsipas really did something wrong or whether it was a gaming skill. Eurosport Mats Wilander defended Tsitsipa, saying all “big players are stretching the rules”, while 18-time champion Chris Evert said the problem was a “vague” rule.

It may be the last of the long toilet breaks we’ve seen, as the rules have been changed to limit how long players can be out of the field, which should please Murray. Little.

Return player of the year

It had ups and downs, but Andy Murray had a pretty strong season as he still tries to get back to the top of the game. Murray was impressive when he defeated Sinner, Alcaraz and Hubert Hurkacz by the end of the year; he hopes for more consistency in 2022.

Xavier Malisse made a shocking return at the European Open when he made the team with his coach Lloyd Harris and won two doubles. Malisse is 41 years old and retired in 2013.

Jack Sock has had a tough year, but seems to be heading in the right direction after encouraging results.

Carla Suarez Navarro will receive the award after returning emotionally to the WTA tour after a fight against cancer. It was great that he got to say goodbye to the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open before bowing to the Billie Jean King Cup final with Spain.

Shot of the year

Best quote

Benoit Pair had a few memorable growls at the start of the season, while Hsieh Su-Wei smiled throughout the season, and Alexander Bublik called Jannik Sinner “not human” their match after Miami was amusing.

However, Djokovic takes the prize when he is once again asked about the threat of the next generation after his defeat to Rafael Nadal in the Rome finals.

“This is probably the 55th time I’ve been asked Next Gen this week. We reinvent the next generation: Rafa, me and Roger, we are the next generation.

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