The Ashes delivered so much drama and intrigue. Can the Australian Open tennis possibly live up to that?

There were questions and contradictions about Djokovic’s immigration form declaration, and a subsequent apology for a “mistake” on said form because he had, in fact, travelled in the previous 14 days and flouted quarantine rules to do a L’Équipe photoshoot while knowingly infected with the virus.

The world No.1 would have felt worse than Harry Brook on a Wellington bender. Meanwhile, Tiley’s bottom was burning, so scorching was the proverbial hot seat of Tennis Australia’s chief executive after accusations of seeking a loophole to cater for an unvaccinated player chasing a record 21st grand slam title.

Rafael Nadal was among the players who felt a “little bit tired of the situation because I just believe that it’s important to talk about our sport, about tennis”. Nadal remained tired until his broken body had beaten Djokovic to that record 21st singles crown. His five-set comeback epic of a men’s final against Daniil Medvedev came a day after Ash Barty became the tournament’s first Australian singles winner in 44 years.

Hours before that, Kyrgios had live-streamed his entrance to Rod Laver Arena where he and Thanasi Kokkinakis won the men’s doubles. The Special Ks were wildcards in every sense, the lawn club brats who told punters to “drink piss and come here”. Who hijacked the sport’s morality and tradition, and geez that sounds suspiciously like Bazball. Except that this pair won, while Bazball’s mode of anti-establishment was also a mode of anti-success.

It was the tournament when “Where is Peng Shuai?” T-shirts were banned, then not banned (banners were still prohibited). Its soundtrack was “siuuu” (“incredibly irritating … painful stuff”, according to Andy Murray). And it was the tournament that out-headlined the 2021-22 Ashes series directly preceding it.

Loading

Four years later, the big guns of today will contest the “happy slam”. Djokovic will return once more, though under the perpetual fitness cloud plaguing the Serbian great since his 10th AO singles title in 2023. Jannik Sinner will attempt to lift a third consecutive trophy, though already has his prizemoney from a recent exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz in Korea.

Kyrgios ruled himself out of a likely wildcard, saying his rehabbed body is not ready for five-set tennis. The call has helped Tiley out of an awkward position in that old favourite Stan Wawrinka can return to the scene of his maiden major trophy in his final season at the age of 40.

But Kyrgios and Kokkinakis will reunite to try and emulate their 2022 doubles success. Aryna Sabalenka will campaign for a third title after losing last year’s final to Madison Keys.