I must admit I felt really good at the end of the Australian Open (the first Grand Slam of the year) as my two favourite players walked away with the men’s and women’s singles titles in Melbourne.
I predicted the final would come down to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. However, I didn’t account for the "Djokovic Factor." At 38, Novak defeating the 24-year-old defending champion in a gruelling five-set semi-final is one of the most physically and mentally defiant performances we have seen in recent history in the sport. Djokovic may never get to the elusive 26th Grand Slam title, but whoever has to defeat him will know they are in a contest.
That battle likely emptied Djokovic's tank, so many felt coming back two days after to face the 22-year-old Alcaraz in the final would prove to be too much for him, although he started the game in his usual brilliantly defiant manner. After Djokovic won the first set, Alcaraz knew he had to change gears, and that’s exactly what he did to win his maiden Australian Open title in four sets. It was history in the making as he became the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam - lifting all four of the sport’s major trophies. History looks good on him.
My other favourite on the men’s side was Ben Shelton, but he bowed out at the quarter-final stage to Sinner. Ben is a firecracker, but he’s currently realising that the gap between being "great" (which Ben is) and "Alcaraz/Sinner levels" is a mountain that requires a lot of hard work and dedication to climb. Another one to watch out for this year is another Italian, Lorenzo Musetti, who is now ranked number five in the world. He had Djokovic on the ropes in the quarter final, leading the Serbian by two sets when he developed some sort of leg injury and had to retire, thereby giving Djokovic a walkover into the semifinals. If his legs catch up to his talent, he’s a problem for the rest of the tour.
As I also suggested, the women’s champion was harder to predict, and on their day, any woman can take the title. My favourite was the super cool Elena Rybakina, and she didn't disappoint. I cannot remember a player on the court who never seems to be rattled about anything. She started her career competing for Russia before switching federations to Kazakhstan in 2018.
Rybakina defeated the irrepressible Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus in the final, who yet again came up short in a Grand Slam. She has now contested eight finals, winning four and is fast becoming the master of the "almost”, as she has now lost the last three finals she has competed in. It must be playing on her mind, but she has to find a solution to get her over the line going forward. The women’s game now has about 8 to 10 women on their day who can take the crown, but the player they will always have to get past, especially leading up to the final, has to be the Belarusian. The next open grand slam will be the French Open from May 18 to June 9. This time, the players shift to clay from the hard courts, but it should be interesting as a lot can happen from now until May.
On Saturday (February 7), the West Indies begin their quest to capture a third T20 crown. The burning question is, can they do it? They most certainly can, as in the T20 format, any team that performs on its day can win it. I presume, based on the recently concluded T20 series against South Africa, not many people would give the West Indies much of a chance. Admittedly, they did not bowl well in the first two T20’s, but they came back to hold their own in the final game and even though they won it via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method. I wonder how many cricket fans know about the DLS method rather than the old Duckworth-Lewis method, which was replaced in 2014, with Steven Stern updating the system to better reflect modern scoring.
The victory would have lifted the players, especially Gudakesh Motie, who picked up 3 for 17 in two overs and gave us a glimpse into what’s possible. However, the bowling in general has not been good in these warm-up games against the Proteas. In the opener, South Africa comfortably got to 176 for 1 in 17.5 overs to win the game, then they clinched the series in the second game, getting to 225 in 17.3 overs. In the first game, the most economical bowler, whose name I won’t bother to call, went for 7.75 runs per over. In the second game, the most economical bowler, whose name I will definitely not call, conceded a whopping 9.71 runs per over in 3.3 overs. Right away, the bowling was a problem, and despite getting the result the West Indies wanted in the final game, the bowling was still not what they would have desired.
Jason Holder, with his experience of the subcontinent, will have to start every game, and he will certainly have to perform better as he is one you would expect to bowl ‘at the death’. The three spinners Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie and Roston Chase should play in all the games. They would have benefited from the South African tournament, but all three can bowl more economically with the added value of getting wickets. There is no doubt the bowling is looking like the Achilles heel. Hopefully, not only the spinners, but if the pacers can get it right, the West Indies will hold their own.
The batting seems to have clicked, but with the bowlers struggling as they are, the batsmen must realise they would have to score over 200 in every game to ensure that the West Indies can get over the line. Scoring 175 and 225 batting first against South Africa, those should have been winning scores, highlighting the vulnerability of the bowling attack. The bowlers must put in a lot of work before going into the first game on Saturday against Scotland. Complacency must be thrown out of the window, as in a World Cup, no game is easy. However, this Group C now seems much more likely for the West Indies to qualify, with the withdrawal of Bangladesh (being replaced by Scotland).
Group C (the ‘Group of Dreams’ if you're a West Indies fan) now consists of England, Italy, Nepal, Scotland and the West Indies. They could not have planned it any better. West Indies should qualify for the next round with England (after the English completely dominated a T20 series against Sri Lanka), provided they don't treat the game against Scotland on Saturday with a "holiday" mindset. Complacency is the only team that can beat the West Indies right now. Time will tell.
Finally, let us all go down to the Hasely Crawford Stadium and support the Under-17 boys in their quest for World Cup qualification. They are in a group with Barbados, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten and the tough Mexicans. After a stumble against Barbados, it’s all-or-nothing now. They face Sint Maarten tonight, but the real blockbuster is the February 12 showdown against Mexico. This is the game of the tournament from a T&T perspective. These youngsters are the future and they need the backing of the 12th man. If they have to climb the Mexican wall to qualify and fly T&T’s Flag high, let’s make sure we’re there to give them the ladder.
Good luck to them!
Editor’s note: The views expressed in the preceding article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of any organisation in which he is a stakeholder
