Tennis is one of the rare sports where players get the chance to write and rewrite their own histories every time they step on the court. You can go from being defaulted and sent packing from the final slam of the year to being just one match away from winning the calendar Grand Slam a year later as we saw with Novak Djokovic’s run in 2020 and 2021.
In tennis, anything is possible but the thing that often separates the average player from the greats is how often they are able to make the impossible look possible, and sometimes, even ordinary and this season hasn’t been any different so far.
We’re barely weeks into the second quarter of the year and the sport which we all love and adore has offered some breathtaking moments through the first quarter of the calendar year. As spectacular as the effort it takes to dominate the sport and make it to the very top of the world ranking is, it’s often more daunting to try and claw your way back after a spell on the sidelines.
Let’s take a look at some of the players who came back and took up their rackets like they never left:
1. Andy Murray
Andy Murray’s injury woes have been a constant tormentor to his career and after the hip surgery he had in 2019 shortly after the Australian Open, where he admitted he felt the tournament might be his last, it was refreshing to see Murray return to what might be considered the scene of the crime against the very player he lost to in Roberto Bautista Agut in 2019.
Although Murray lost in the third round, this has been the deepest run he’s had at a Grand Slam tournament since 2017, which is why he has earned a spot on this list. Former World number one Murray finished his second-round match at 4am on Friday and, returning to court 39 hours later, was beaten 6-1 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 6-4.
Murray’s season hasn’t quite gone swimmingly since the Australian Open and the run to the final in Doha, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev. He took a few early-round losses through the course of the Sunshine Double and the first events of the European clay swing, he has since bounced back and claimed his first title at the Challenger level in 18 years. Whether or not we would see Murray challenging for titles at the highest level again remains to be seen. But it is spectacular seeing him playing with the kind of grit that brought him there in the first place.
2. Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev’s 2022 season was nothing short of a disaster, especially given the high standards he has set for himself and for what we have come to expect of him. After losing the Australian Open final to Rafael Nadal, a match he was the favorite to win and went two sets up on the Spanish legend in. He had put significant distance between them as he broke early in the third set but Nadal would break back and gain significant momentum to win the title in five sets.
That loss set the pace for an abysmal 2022 season for the Russian. His fortunes were not helped by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in the summer and the bans that followed seemed to further dent whatever form and momentum he could have gained from the brief spell on grass. He would go on to lose in the fourth round at the US Open and conclude the season with only two titles and a poor showing at the ATP Finals.
The 2023 season seemed to begin for Medvedev much as the 2022 season concluded. He lost in shocking fashion in the Australian Open third round against Sebastian Korda 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-4). In his post-match interview, Medvedev would go on to say the following; “I think it was a top match where he was just better than me. I won many matches like this. Right now, I’m struggling a little bit to win this kind of matches against opponents that can play a good level. That’s what I have to find back.”
And find it back he did. In his first tournament after that defeat in February, he would go on to claim the title in Rotterdam. Medvedev would go on a tear from there, winning the title at two other events on the bounce in Doha and Dubai, making the final at Indian Wells before losing to the defending champion in Carlos Alcaraz. Medvedev would be back in the championship match of a Masters event shortly though, claiming the title in Miami two weeks after losing the first final of the Sunshine Double.
By the time April rolled by, he had already managed to win twice the number of titles as he was able to the previous season, marking himself as a major contender at any tournament he enters as the season progresses.
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3. Carlos Alcaraz
Injuries can put a devastating halt to any player’s momentum, no matter their age or level of experience. No one has been able to get back to winning ways after an injury break as seamlessly as Alcaraz has done this year though. After picking up an injury that saw him sidelined for the ATP Finals in Turin last year, the tennis world was hopeful for the Spanish youngster’s return to the tour for the first slam of the season in Australia but Melbourne would have to wait for Alcaraz’s debut a while longer as he could not recover on time to be a part of the draw in January.
When his season resumed in February however, Alcaraz tore his way through the draw to back-to-back finals in the Golden Swing in South America, winning the title in Buenos Aires and losing out in the final in Rio to Cameron Norrie. He has made the semifinal or better in all tour-level events he has played in, winning four titles in the process across various surfaces to stamp his dominance once again among his peers.
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4. Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ended the 2022 season on a high, winning a record-tying 6th ATP Finals title marked by a sensational run in Turin after an abysmal year marred by various controversies. He missed out on the chance to defend his Australian Open title after his entry into the country was deemed illegal resulting in him being deported, having watched his peers get to compete from a holding cell in Melbourne.
He would equally not get the opportunity to play in any of the Masters 1000 events in Canada and the U.S. as well as miss out on the US Open because of his vaccination status. Although he won the title at Wimbledon, he was awarded no points as the ATP and WTA refused to award points in reaction to the tournament’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players following the invasion of Ukraine.
Thus Novak stepped on the court with the baggage of the events from the previous year weighing on his mind. Like most adversities he has had to face in his career, he quickly brushed it aside and with it every opponent he had to face in the run to the championship match all the while nursing a tear to his hamstring to win a record-setting 10th Australian Open title in Melbourne.
We are well and truly on our way in the second quarter of the season and it would be fantastic to witness the level of dominance all our phenomenal champions can bring to bear every time they step on court. Hopefully, we will be able to see them go toe to toe with each other for the rest of the season and beyond.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
