More fans streamed through the gates leading to the 2024 Australian Open (AO) than ever before, breaking both two-week and three-week attendance records. A total of 1,020,763 fans entered Melbourne Park during the main draw, compared with the previous record of 839,192 set in 2023. An additional 89,894 fans attended during AO Opening Week, bringing the three week total to 1,110,657 people. The Australian Open is the first of four tennis Grand Slams of the year, starting in mid-January and continuing for two weeks. Fans fly in from all around the world to eagerly watch their favorite tennis players compete.

Unfortunately, 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal withdrew from the event due to a microtear in a muscle after playing in the Brisbane International during his comeback after 12 months on the sidelines. “Right now I am not ready to compete at the maximum level of exigence in five-set matches. I’m flying back to Spain to see my doctor, get some treatment and rest,” he tweeted on January 7th. Fans and fellow players flooded the post with reactions to express their sadness, but also their hopes for a speedy recovery.

Another fan favorite in men’s tennis is Novak Djokovic. Djokovic has won ten Australian Open titles, four more than any other man in history. He entered having not lost at the event since 2018, and having won three straight championships from 2019 to 2021 before missing the tournament in 2022 after being deported due to his reluctance to undergo COVID-19 vaccination. In 2023, he returned and regained his title. However, while seeking his 25th grand slam title, the world No. 1 player lost his semifinal match on Friday to Jannik Sinner 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3. “I guess this is one of the worst grand slam matches I’ve ever played, at least that I remember,” Djokovic said to reporters afterward. “Not a very pleasant feeling playing this way. But at the same time, credit to him for doing everything better than me in every aspect of the game.” This win marks Sinner’s third over Djokovic since November. The 22-year-old will be making his first career Grand Slam finals appearance.

Jannik Sinner, No. 4 in the world, then played against third-seed Daniil Medvedev and beat him 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in three hours and 44 minutes on Sunday, January 28th, making him the Australian Open 2024 men’s champion. He is the first Italian, male or female, to win an AO singles title since 1976. At age 22, this win also makes him the youngest player from his nation to secure a Grand Slam. “It’s a huge tournament for me,” Sinner said, cradling the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. “It’s the ‘Happy Slam’, it’s a very, very nice place to be.” To Medvedev he said, “Every match I find something where I can improve, and you always make me a much, much better player.” Sinner’s victory ensures this will be the first time since 2014 that Djokovic, Nadal or Federer did not win the year’s first major. The trio had won 17 of the past 18 Australian Opens overall. The loss compelled many tennis fans to question whether or not the sport has reached the end of an era with none of these three leg-ends playing in the Australian Open final for the first time since 2005.

No. 1-ranked women’s tennis player Iga Swiatek was beaten by Linda Noskova in her third round match. Swiatek is a four-time major winner but has never been past the semifinals at Melbourne Park. Even so, she was on an 18-match winning streak and expected to win over 19-year-old Noskova, who was making her main draw debut at the tournament. Already down a set and facing a break point against Swiatek, No. 50-ranked Noskova decided she had nothing to lose. She won 11 of the next 12 points to take the second set and swing momentum in their third-round match Saturday, ultimately becoming the first teenager to beat a No. 1-ranked woman at the Australian Open since 1999.

Australian Open since 1999. Last year’s U.S. Open title holder and No. 4 seed, Coco Gauff, dodged 37th-ranked Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in the Australian Open quarterfinals after three hours and eight minutes; it was the longest Grand Slam match of the 19-year- old’s career. However, her semifinal against Aryna Sabalenka marked the end of Gauff’s Australian Open 2024 journey. The pair were locked together until 4-4 in the second set as Sabalenka countered Gauff’s speed with power. The 25-year-old second seed edged ahead with a decisive break when the teenager hit a shot long before sealing victory with two massive serves. “I really enjoy playing [Coco]. She’s an incredible player, win or lose it’s great matches,” said Sabalenka, who fell in three sets to Gauff in the Flushing Meadows final. “I really hope in the future we’re going to play many more finals. Of course, I hope I win them all,” she added with a laugh.

After finally avenging her U.S. Open final loss to Coco Gauff with a straight-set win, Sabalenka powered on into the women’s finals. Winning her first Grand Slam crown in Australia a year ago gave Sabalenka the confidence she could do it again. Losing the U.S. Open final last September gave her the extra motivation. She set the tone with big, deep forehands and converted service breaks early in each set against 21-year-old Qinwen Zheng and eventually proved she was not a one-hit wonder by clinching back-to-back Australian Open titles with a 6-3, 6-2 win.

Aryna Sabalenka is the first woman since Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and 2013 to win back-to-back Australian Open titles, and the fifth since 2000 to win the championship there without dropping a set—an achievement shared with Serena Williams. “I’m definitely a different person and a player and I have more experience playing the last stages of the Grand Slams,” Sabalenka said, reflecting on the last 13 months. “There were some tough moments for me losing the U.S. Open final—that loss actually motivated me so much to work even harder.” She went on to say, “The first one is always special because I feel like it’s more emotional. For the second time, it’s just such a relief.”

Information retrieved from nbcnews. com and ausopen.com.