The music plays from the bar attached to Court 6 of Melbourne Park, where a Spanish debutant falls. At least, Martín Landaluce will always have the good aftertaste of these Australian days for discovery: first Grand Slam, the tickling of a premiere and learning, then the reward is no less. , experiences the ramps of access to the elite (6-4, 6-3 and 6-3 for the local James McCabe) and these first steps of the course hint at a good direction in that attempt to sneak into the top-100 and reinforce growth. “Come on, Martín, he’s going to hesitate!”, encourages the Spanish captain of the Davis Cup, David Ferrer, very attentive to the boy’s evolution taking into account that national tennis is immersed in a full transition. But the strong McCabe, his back in an inverted triangle, does not tremble.
Neither does Stefanos Tsitsipas despite the waves. One day, not too long ago, he beat Federer himself in the center and aimed to take on the world with that exquisite backhand pose, but today he seems to have lost the sword. So it falls and it falls. “Karma has hit me,” he reflected and at the same time optimistic, despite the downward curve of results: from the quarterfinals signed last year at Roland Garros, only a second round at Wimbledon and two stumbles at the first in New York and Australia. “But I would say that I am a better player now than before. Even though I lose now and am not at my best, my shots are better and have more effect,” he reasons, already off the tournament map because he thought his individual tour in Melbourne would be longer and he preferred to rule out doubles.
“What bothers me is that now I will have to hang around here, until the next tournament,” he laments before Jannik Sinner devours the Chilean Nicolás in his own way, acting as a saw and with work: only 12 errors and a 7 -6(2), 7-6(5) and 6-1 that will pair him on Thursday with the Australian Tristan Schoolkate or the Japanese Taro Daniel. And Japan is being talked about precisely this Monday in the facilities, because there he is, until the last hit, Kei Nishikori. Despite the circumstances, despite all the injuries, the tide does not absorb him. And that: “On some occasions I have thought that I would never play again.” But there he is still, savoring another marathon victory, the eighth he has recorded in five sets in these lands; only a certain Federer made him bite the dust in that situation.
So he, 12 titles and 72nd in the world after having fallen to 759th place in 2022, remembers and values: “Seeing how he fell was very hard.” Refers to the shoulder and knee. Setback after setback. Foot and a half above the starting line. “I thought that if I had to have surgery again, I wouldn’t be able to go back,” he adds. “But I wanted to return to the big courts and I think I can still compete against top players. “I am confident in my abilities and I still enjoy this sport,” he continues. The fact is that a few days ago he reached the final in Hong Kong and still wants war, rallying “with the same passion as 10 years ago.” He tells journalists that he wants to play against Sinner or Alcaraz, and thus gauge how far that game can go in its electrifying day, capable of defeating Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
an old mine
Until his body broke, the happy joints, he had been able to climb to the fourth step in the world and make the legendary trident uncomfortable; He was close to catching a big one—he lost to Croatian Marin Cilic in the 2014 US Open final—and he . In that spirit of continuing, continuing and continuing beyond the limit, he has a meeting point with the Spaniard, who is three years older (38-35) and already enjoying retirement in Manacor. Nadal did not want to leave him, just as Nishikori, at the time a gold mine that the multinational IMG exploited, did not give up. Suffice it to say: in 2019 he earned more than the Mallorcan, Nole, Serena Williams or Maria Sharapova. Its name already sounds like a tennis shoe from another time, from another era and from a moment long past, but fill up the tank and power until the chassis can hold up.
Worthy heir to the warrior Murray, too. “I eat a lot of sushi,” he jokes. “I spent half a year without playing and another half because of the other injury, that was the hardest moment for me, at the end of 2023. But I have confidence and this week is going to help me a lot. I just enjoy”, closes the Japanese, roadrunner by birth and a fighter like no other; After all, history is there to reflect the determination and toughness of mind: only the Swede Björn Borg, with 87%, has a higher percentage than his (29-8, 81.8%) in debates to five sets. So celebrate, always content and happy. He hadn’t won a match in Melbourne since 2019. And raise your hand: don’t forget about me, not for now.
