Polish Surprise …
Polish tennis history has catalogued the successes realized by Wojciech Fibak and Agnieszka Radwańska in the Open Era. In the 1930s, Jadwiga Jędrzejowska gained notice. She was a formidable baseliner with a telling forehand. Because tennis officials, as well as fans, had difficulty pronouncing her name, she was known as “Jed” or “Ja Ja”. In 1939, she was a Roland Garros finalist. The legendary Simonne Mathieu, the French player for whom a show court at the facility is now named, defeated her 6-3, 8-6. The singles opponents then joined forces to down Alice Florian and Hella Kovac from Yugoslavia, in the doubles final, 7-5, 7-5.
This year, in Paris, Poland’s tennis history was rewritten. Iga Świątek, who three months earlier completed high school, ended up, out of the classroom, graduating with honors. She passed her on court practical exam by overwhelming Australian Open titlist, Sofia Kenin of the US, 6-4, 6-1 in the Roland Garros women’s final.
Claiming her initial career title, Świątek became the first player from Poland to secure a Slam singles trophy. (She earned the 2020 WTA Most Improved Player Award, too.) At 19, she was the youngest woman to win in Paris since Monica Seles, who represented Yugoslavia, in 1992. Świątek, at No. 54, was the lowest ranked performer to earn the women’s championship since computer rankings were first utilized in 1975. In seven matches, the most games she relinquished were five. (This happened in the second and third rounds against Hsieh Su-Wei of China, 6-1, 6-4 and Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, 6-3, 6-2, along with Kenin in the final).
Following her match with Hsieh, Świątek, the 2018 Wimbledon Junior Girls’ singles winner, was captivating as she explained that at the Warsaw Open, ten years earlier, she had been a ball person during the tournament and had been thrilled to have an opportunity to hit with Hsieh.
Djokovic Won But Kenin Was Australia’s Story
In Australia, Novak Djokovic captured a record-setting eighth tournament title, (and 17th Grand Slam win) by downing Thiem, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. He campaigned resolutely thereafter winning 26 straight matches until petulance became his competition in the fourth round at the US Open. His emotional flair-up resulted in his first defeat. True, the Adria Tour that he and his family had arranged, turned into a COVID showcase during the game’s pandemic pause. It put a smudge on his season results up to that point. (Incidentally, both he and his wife tested positive following the exhibition series.)
Angrily whacking a ball and hitting a linesperson in the neck in New York, resulting in his default, served to increase the size of the earlier blemish. It is a shame that such willful behavior had to tarnish the Serbian’s No. 1 finish in the ATP rankings for the sixth time. Added to that, he was selected the Best Tennis Player In 2020 by the European Press Agencies. In addition, before the US Open kicked off he, along with Vasek Pospisil of Canada, (who ironically earned Comeback Player of the Year honors), resigned from the ATP Player Council and formed the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), (planning to serve as Co-Presidents). Over all, Djokovic had quite a year…
Sofia Kenin’s year was even better. The spunky sprite from Pembrooke Pines, Florida, nicknamed Sonya, claimed her first major in Australia, surprising home country favorite Ashleigh Barty, 7-6, 7-5 in the semifinals and Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the final. She was a Roland Garros finalist and achieved a Top 10 ranking for the first time. She finished 2020 at No. 4 and was selected WTA Player of the Year.
Magnificent Medvedev Drops The Curtain…
Going into the Rolex Paris Masters and the Nitto ATP Finals, his last 2020 events, Daniil Medvedev had put together a decent year. But, in truth, the 6’7” Russian really hadn’t lived up to his expectations. Things changed at the AccorHotels Arena which is situated in the Bercy neighborhood of Paris’ 12th arrondissement.
Medvedev was stellar in the singles final, which featured the game’s future in terms of age, height and sheer athleticism. In that contest, he defeated Alexander Zverev of Germany, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.
Then, 19 days later, Medvedev brought the men’s tennis season to a close at the Nitto ATP Finals at the O2 Arena in London. He slipped past Thiem, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the trophy round. With the championship, he became only the second Russian to win the year-end tournament. (In 2009, Nikolay Davydenko downed Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, 6-3, 6-4.) US Open titlist Thiem is now “0” for “2” in London, having come up 6-7, 6-2, 7-6 short in last year’s contest with Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.
With the Nitto ATP Finals moving to Turin, Italy in 2021, many had hoped that the last show in London would pit No.1 Djokovic against No. 2, Rafael Nadal of Spain. But “Youth was served” in the semifinals when Medvedev edged Nadal 3-6, 7-6, 6-3 and Thiem trimmed Djokovic 7-5, 6-7, 7-6.
In the end, the 24-year-old Russian dropped the curtain on 2020 with 10 straight wins, two significant titles and a career high at No. 4 ranking.
