A looks back at the stories and themes that dominated a thrilling year in tennis.
Upset of the Year
There can be no doubt about it. Lukas Rosol stunned Rafael Nadal, Centre Court and the millions who had tuned in to watch by the time this Wimbledon second round match entered the thrilling final set.
And what a set it turned out to be. The world number 100, instead of melting away under the spotlight against one of the greatest names in the sport, upped the ante. Even now, six months after the fact, watching the highlights of that last set on YouTube is to journey into a parallel sporting universe.
This was Nadal – the man who has relentlessly hunted down lesser players since he first burst onto the scene, being given the run around by a man who was a household name solely in his own household. Nadal, to his credit, put up a stoic front after the loss saying: “I played a great fourth set. He came back [after the delay to close the roof] and played unbelievable in the fifth.
“I’m very, very disappointed [but] it’s not a tragedy, it’s only a tennis match.”
Rosol, who was understandably elated after the match, gushed: “I’m not just surprised but it’s like a miracle. I never expected something like this. There are so many emotions – I don’t know what to say.
“[Nadal] is a superstar and I’m very sorry for him. I played unbelievably today. I hope I can play another match like this.”
He couldn’t. Two days after playing the match of his life inside an electric Centre Court, Rosol lost in straight sets to Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets on the lonely outpost that is Court 12.
Honourable Mention: Virginie Razzano shocked Serena Williams in the first round of the French Open – the first time the American had lost in the opening round of a Grand Slam. Williams stormed back in style though, winning both Wimbledon and the US Open to take her major tally to 15.
Match of the Year
Even though 2012 was filled with memorable matches, the best one came early when Nadal and Novak Djokovic met in the final of the Australian Open.
This was the third successive Grand Slam summit clash in which the two were meeting, with Djokovic having won both. The Serb would make it three on January 29, but only after five hours and 53 minutes of almighty struggle against Nadal who came close to breaking the hoodoo that had dogged him against Djokovic throughout 2011.
This was two exponents of modern-day tennis at their very best. There was phenomenal athleticism and explosive power-hitting, incredible gets and pounded winners, most played out from behind the baseline.
Nadal had a golden opportunity to claim the title when he broke for 4-2 in the final set. But Djokovic has made an entire career out of coming back from desperate situations. He broke the Spaniard right back before getting the decisive break in the 11th game and then serving out the match.
Just like he would a few months later after losing to Rosol, Nadal took the loss on the chin, saying: “It’s nice to be there fighting, trying to go to the limit.
“It’s something I really enjoy and I always said it is good to suffer. I am very happy about my mentality, it worked well at the big moments.
“I didn’t have any mental problems against him. I had mental problems against him in 2011 but not today.”
Nadal would follow up those words by making the clay season his once again, and romping all the way to a record seventh French Open and avenging his Melbourne loss by beating Djokovic in the final in Paris.
Disappointment(s) of the Year
Even though the general consensus is that tennis is enjoying a golden age, it would still be nice to see some younger players come through and challenge the established order.
Donald Young and Bernard Tomic were earmarked as two of those potential challengers – both regressed this season.
Young went on a 17-match losing streak, the third longest in the Open era and didn’t win a singles match from Fenruary to August. A far cry from the man who at the age of 15 was featured by Newsweek in their “Who’s Next?” section.
It was only in 2011 that Young reached the fourth round of the US Open and ended the year as the world-number 57. His ranking at the time of writing has plummeted to 189.
Tomic’s fall wasn’t as precipitous but the Australian still endured a torrid year on court along with a maelstrom of unsavoury incidents off it. There were whispers of tanked matches, admissions of not having tried his best in others, run-ins with the media, altercations with the police – all of which culminated in a year-end ranking of 52, down ten places from the year before. He was dropped from the Australian Davis Cup team for 2013 with poor attitude and ill-discipline cited as the reasons.
At only 20-years-old, Tomic has plenty of time on his side, but it was still a massively underwhelming year for him given that his fourth-round appearances at Wimbledon 2011 and Australian Open 2012 were supposed to be stepping stones to bigger and better things.
Stirring giant of the year
Juan Martin del Potro finally started showing signs of the form that saw him beat Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in successive matches en route to the 2009 US Open title.
After losing to Federer six times on the bounce this year – including two epics, in the French Open quarter-final and at the London Olympics, the Argentinean finally made the breakthrough by beating the Swiss twice at the end of the year.
Despite having been back on tour after a career-threatening wrist injury for quite a while now, it is only recently that Del Potro has regained the range on his serve, movement and most crucially, his lethal forehand that made him such a threat all those years ago.
