Top Tennis moments from 2022: Part IV - Rune shines at Paris Masters; Garcia WTA finals win; mixed year for Halep

The 2022 tennis season had everything. From epic battles to emotional farewells of some of the biggest names, it was a year like no other.

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

Before the 2023 season begins with the United Cup in Australia, here is a quick look at part four of the top 40 tennis moments of 2022:

Caroline Garcia is back

Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia was ranked outside the top 70 in mid-June. However, she finished the year as World No. 4 after a superb run which saw her clinch four titles - Bad Homburg, Warsaw, Cincinnati and WTA Finals. Her title-winning run in Cincinnati was particularly impressive as she had to go through the qualifying round. Garcia also made it to the semifinals of the US Open.

Rune’s unreal week in Paris

While Carlos Alcaraz was being praised from tennis fans all over the world, Denmark’s Holger Rune made sure that he the Spaniard wasn’t the only teenager people took note of before the end of the season. The 19-year-old Rune beat five top 10 players to clinch the Paris Masters title, the first one on record (since 1973) to achieve such a feat. Rune came from 1-3 down in the third set to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in two hours 32 minutes against six-time champion Novak Djokovic. The title-run also helped him enter the ATP top 10 and become first alternate for the year-end tour finals.

Djokovic clinches sixth ATP Finals title

Despite playing only 10 tournaments and getting no points for his Wimbledon title, Djokovic qualified for the year-ending ATP Finals in Turin. The Serbian showed no signs of rustiness as a week after losing to Rune in Paris Masters, he won five out of five matches in Turin to clinch his sixth ATP Finals title, tying Federer’s record. Djokovic became the oldest champion at the prestigious year-end tournament and also earned the largest payday in tennis history as he walked away with $4.7 million.

Swiatek LOST

The Ostrava Open final between home favourite Barbora Krejcikova and World No. 1 Iga Swiatek turned out to be one of the matches of the season. Krejcikova handed Swiatek only her second-ever loss in WTA Tour singles finals as the Czech player eventually managed to convert her sixth match point and emerged victorious 7-5, 6-7 (4), 3-6 in three hours and 16 minutes.

Jabeur and Ruud - trailblazers

Norway’s Casper Ruud (left) and Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur (right). | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Ons Jabeur (Wimbledon and US Open) and Casper Ruud (French Open and US Open) created history by becoming the first player from their respective nations - Tunisia and Norway - to reach the singles finals of Grand Slams. While both failed to cross the final hurdle, their determination and sportsmanship won the hearts of tennis fans all over the world.

Three in three for Auger-Aliassime

The month of October belonged to Auger-Aliassime on the ATP Tour. After losing his previous eight finals dating back to 2019, the Canadian had finally clinched his maiden ATP Tour title in Rotterdam in February. However, eight months later, he grabbed three titles - Florence, Antwerp and Basel - in as many weeks. This late-season surge helped him make the cut for the ATP Tour Finals in Turin.

Simona Halep’s year

Former World No. 1 Simona Halep had a mixed 2022 season. The Romanian began with a WTA250 title in Adelaide and reached the Australian Open fourth round before losing to Cornet. Soon, she appointed Patrick Mouratoglou as her full-time coach. At the French Open, she had a shock second-round exit after loss against Chinese teenager Qinwen Zheng, later revealing that she had suffered a panic attack. Halep’s best Grand Slam performance in 2022 was Wimbledon where she reached the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Elena Rybakina. She won the Canadian Open title to return to the WTA Top 10 Rankings but then was outclassed by Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur in the opening round of the US Open. Halep announced after Flushing Meadows that her season had ended as she underwent nose surgery. In October, the Romanian was found to have tested positive for banned substance roxadustat at the US Open.

Linda Fruhvirtova - making of a star at Chennai Open

Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova won her maiden tour-level title at the inaugural WTA250 event in Chennai with a fine come-from-behind 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Poland’s Magda Linette in the final.The triumph was the 17-year-old’s maiden Tour-level title as she became the youngest winner since Coco Gauff won a title in 2021 (Parma) and the youngest Czech to do so since Nicole Vaidisova in 2006 (Strasbourg). “I am pretty much in shock and don’t have the right words,” Fruhvirtova said on-court, tearing up. “It’s unbelievable. Again, great atmosphere to play in and something I will always remember.”

Sabalenka gets redemption

In the second round of the US Open, sixth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka pulled off a miraculous escape. Down 6-2, 5-1 and two match points against Estonian veteran Kaia Kanepi, she battled back to prevail 2-6, 7-6, 6-4. It felt like redemption for the Belarusian who had lost 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(7) to Kanepi in the fourth round of the Australian Open earlier in the year.

Golden Slam for Krejcikova-Siniakova

Dominant Czech duo Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Krejcikova rallied to beat Caty McNally and Taylor Townsend 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the US Open final and collect their third Grand Slam doubles title of the year and sixth overall.The Americans led by a set and 4-1 before the Tokyo Olympic gold medallists stormed back to complete their career “Golden Slam” with their maiden triumph in New York.The Czech pair went undefeated in the Grand Slam doubles tournaments it competed in this year. They missed the French Open when Krejcikova caught COVID-19.

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