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.
Before the 2023 season begins with the United Cup in Australia, here is a quick look at part two of the top 40 tennis moments of 2022:
Alcaraz dazzles
Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz came into the limelight with a stunning third-round win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets at the 2021 US Open. However, no one could have predicted that that fixture was just a teaser for 2022 - a year in which the boy from Murcia, Spain, won five titles including the US Open itself and became the youngest-ever World No. 1. It was not easy though as he had to fight three gruelling five-set battles, especially the quarterfinal against Jannik Sinner, before beating Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final.
It’s Iga Swiatek’s world
Poland’s Iga Swiatek set the tennis world ablaze with sheer dominance in 2022. The 21-year-old clinched eight titles, including two Majors (French Open and US Open), and had a record-breaking unbeaten streak of 37 matches. Coached by Tomasz Wiktorowski, the Polish player grabbed the top spot in the WTA Rankings soon after the then World No. 1 and Australian Open champion Ash Barty announced her retirement and fittingly won the 2022 WTA Player of the Year award in the end.
Serena ‘evolves away’ from tennis
Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam winner, returned to the sport at Eastbourne in June after a year-long absence. A month after her first-round exit from Wimbledon, she said in a Vogue article that she was “evolving away from tennis.” While she still has not used the word ‘retirement,’ her emotions after a third-round defeat to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic at the US Open signalled that she may have played her final professional match, bringing end to a glorious career.
Nadal and French Open - the love affair continues
Rafael Nadal continued to boss the clay Major at Roland Garros as he beat first-time finalist Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the summit clash to lift the Musketeers’ Cup for a record-extending 14th time. The Spaniard took pain-killing injections throughout the tournament in Paris to tackle his foot injury.
Bopanna reaches doubles semis at French Open
FILE PHOTO: India’s Rohan Bopanna (left) and his Dutch partner Matwe Middelkoop (right) during the 2022 French Open | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Rohan Bopanna’s run, alongwith Dutchman Matwe Middelkoop, at the French Open was the highlight of the year for Indian tennis fans. The 42-year-old Bopanna, who started the year with ATP250 titles in Adelaide and Pune with compatriot Ramkumar Ramanathan, made it all the way to the semis at Roland Garros with Middelkoop. Special mention for an outrageous 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10) win over Croatian duo of Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the Round of 16.
When Tim van Rijthoven stunned Medvedev
Six years after making his main draw debut at an ATP Tour event, World No. 205 Dutchman Tim van Rijthoven finally got his first win - 7-6 (4), 7-6 (9) over Australian Matthew Ebden in the first round of an ATP250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. However, the 25-year-old wildcard did not stop there. In fact, he defeated Taylor Fritz, Hugo Gaston, Felix Auger-Aliassime before upsetting the then World No. 2 Medvedev in the final to lift the winner’s trophy in front of his home crowd.
Cramping Kozlov defies logic
American Stefan Kozlov defied logic to upset Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the Round of 32 of the Mexican Open in Acapulco. Kozlov got a spot in the main draw as a lucky loser after Maxime Cressy withdrew because of injury. However, he struggled with cramps in his right leg and could barely stand between points. Despite all of that, he managed to beat Dimitrov 7-6 (8), 5-7, 6-2 in three hours and 21 minutes to set up a second-round clash with Nadal, the eventual champion.
Coco Gauff - second youngest world number one in doubles
American teenager Coco Gauff had a memorable year in singles, reaching the French Open final and US Open quarterfinal to achieve a career-high ranking of four. However, she made even bigger steps in doubles. Partnering compatriot Jessica Pegula, she won titles in Qatar, Canada and San Diego while also making it to the final in Stuttgart and Roland Garros. The impressive results helped Gauff become the second youngest player to top the women’s doubles rankings after Martina Hingis, aged 17 when she achieved the feat in 1998.
Misbehaviour with chair umpires
A$69,000 in fines were handed out for 24 code violations in the men’s events while A$9,500 against five players in the women’s competitions at the Australian Open alone. Misbehaviour with the chair umpires increased in the later stages of the tournament. Medvedev was fined a combined A$12,000 (about $8,400) for two code violations, one for an audible obscenity and the other for unsportsmanlike conduct during his quarterfinal against Tsitsipas where he shouted at umpire Jaume Campistol. Canadian Denis Shapovalov was fined the same amount for calling match official “corrupt” during his quarterfinal against Nadal where he wanted the chair umpire to give a time violation penalty to the Spaniard. The situation did not improve during the rest of the year.
Activist ties herself to the net at French Open
A protester ties herself to the net during the men’s singles semifinal match of the French Open between Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud at Roland Garros on June 03, 2022 in Paris, France. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
An environmental activist interrupted the French Open men’s semifinal between Marin Cilic of Croatia and Norwegian Casper Ruud for 15 minutes when she jumped onto Court Philippe Chatrier and tied and glued herself to the net. The woman, a French citizen, wearing a t-shirt that read ‘we have 1028 days left’ tied herself to the edge of the net with a string around her neck. The message, written on both sides of her white t-shirt, was a reference to a UN report on climate change.
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