​Open era: On the Australian Open

Coming as it does at the beginning of a brand new tennis season, the Australian Open is never short of fresh and intriguing storylines. The 2025 edition, which started on Sunday, is no exception. Of interest will be Novak Djokovic’s quest for a record-breaking 25th Major, Jannik Sinner’s title defence amidst a doping cloud, Carlos Alcaraz’s search for a maiden trophy in Melbourne and Aryna Sabalenka’s desire to make it a hat-trick Down Under. With his greatest rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal retired, Djokovic is the lone representative from the Big Three era. The 37-year-old, a record 10-time champion in Australia, has not won an ATP Tour-level title since November 2023 and will be looking to three-time Slam winner Andy Murray, who is now his coach, for some fresh solutions as he enters the last leg of his career. Sinner, who had an otherwise impeccable 2024, awaits an April hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed his acquittal by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) over two failed dope tests. Alcaraz, at 21, can become the youngest man to win a career Grand Slam (acquiring all four Majors at least once) while Sabalenka, with her fourth Slam, can cement her position as the best hard-court player in the world.

With Sinner and Alcaraz having split 2024’s Majors equally, the onus was on Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev to ensure that their generation — sandwiched between the times of the Big Three and the Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly — is not squeezed out in tennis’ all-new era. But Medvedev lost on Thursday, leaving Zverev with the responsibility of maintaining their position at the high table. Though the rungs are not as clear cut among women, there is intense jostling at the top among the trinity of Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff. Swiatek is a five-time Slam champion but has gone past the fourth round at Melbourne Park just once (2022, semifinal). The 23-year-old also has her aura dimmed after accepting a month’s ban in November for a positive dope test. For the United States’ Gauff, a lack of consistency has been her bane. But if she can carry her strong recent form — WTA Finals crown in November 2024 and United Cup triumph earlier this January — she will be a real force. Unfortunately, Indians are never part of these conversations. Sumit Nagal is already out, losing in the first round, and so are men’s doubles practitioners Rohan Bopanna — who at the 2024 Australian Open became the oldest man to be No.1 and win a Major — and Yuki Bhambri.