Wrapping up the 2014 Australian Open: 11 things we took away from the tournament

Stanislas Wawrinka with his beloved Australian Open trophy

The first Grand Slam of the year ended on a slightly awkward yet promising note last night. The past fortnight offered tennis fans around the globe a lot to chew on – from unexpected early exits to unexpected rising stars, all set against the sweltering heat of Melbourne that pushed players to the extremes of physical endurance and mental fortitude.

Readers will sympathize with me when I say that the end of the Australian Open has left a significant void in my schedule (I have to confess here that my clock was set to the Australian time zone), and that I am experiencing withdrawal symptoms. So what better way to cure our tennis hangovers than to take a trip down the past two weeks of tennis awesomeness. Here’s what I took away from this year’s Australian Open:

1. No matter what the rankings and records state, a Federer-Nadal match is as close to a Superbowl event as tennis can get. The 33rd meeting between the pair ended with the Spaniard winning in straight sets and a lot of Roger fans (including me) going through an emotional roller coaster. But take a moment here to pause and soak in the glory of this rivalry that has benefited tennis in more ways than one can imagine. Even people who do not regularly follow the sport switch on their television sets to see these two champions play. Isn’t that a comforting thought?

2. There is a new Swiss champion in town folks, and his initials aren’t RF. Stanislas Wawrinka shot up the rankings to World No. 3 with his win in the men’s final, and it will be interesting to see how he handles being a Grand Slam champion going forward. He has a brilliant serve and a forehand to beat all forehands. Plus, he defeated both Novak Djokovic and Nadal to lift the trophy, which should put to rest any doubts about the status of his worthiness. Let’s hope he does not go the del Potro way, and instead scales further new heights. On a side note, the bromance between Roger and Stan is pretty cute!

3. Li Na was crowned the women’s champion and it was refreshing to see a champion speak so candidly and uninhibitedly to the crowds. Well done to Dominika Cibulkova as well for playing a fantastic tournament, defeating both Sharapova and Radwanska enroute her maiden Grand Slam final. The icing on the cake, of course, was Li Na’s brilliant, hilarious winner’s speech, which left everyone with a smile on their face.

4. Staying with the women, the curious case of Agnieszka Radwanska continues to haunt me. There are few players who have the intelligence to read the game as well as the Pole and that smartness was on display when she provided a masterclass in tennis to defeat defending champion Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals. With no Serena Williams and Sharapova left in the draw, this could have been the moment for Radwanska, but she played a completely zombie-like match against Cibulkova in the semis, winning just three games. Here’s hoping she has her breakthrough moment sooner rather than later.

5. Although I personally do not believe that superstar coaches necessarily lead to superstar results, it was great to see Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Ivan Lendl and Magnus Norman in the players’ boxes during the tournament. And for all Rafa fans out there, it is safe to say that Uncle Toni is a superstar coach in his own right, no?