Wearing a dark blue T-shirt bearing Roger Federer바카라s first name and pushing a gray stroller carrying her 1-year-old daughter, Martina (as in Hingis), along a Rod Laver Arena concourse at the Australian Open, Angelica Ibarra spoke for many a tennis fan when she described her mood on Day 1 of Grand Slam action since two of the sport바카라s most significant athletes ended their careers.
바카라I바카라ve grown up seeing Roger play, so for me, tennis IS Roger and Roger IS tennis,바카라 said Ibarra, who said she is from Colombia and now lives in Melbourne. 바카라Not to see Roger back at the tennis is a bit emotional. I also like women바카라s tennis, and the Williams sisters aren바카라t here, as well. But I바카라m really excited to see the up-and-coming talent of the new generation. This will be my first time watching some new players.바카라
The 2023 edition of the Australian Open, which began on a cloudy Monday morning (Sunday night EST), is not the first Grand Slam tournament to be contested without Roger Federer or Serena Williams, of course.
That was the case at the 2022 edition of the Australian Open, too, to name just one example.
What is different now is that this marks the first major tournament since Federer and Williams 바카라 two larger-than-the-game, larger-than-life figures, both 41 and with a combined 43 Slam singles championships and years바카라 worth of weeks at No. 1 in the rankings 바카라 announced they would be retiring (or, to use her preferred term, 바카라evolving바카라).
바카라They were amazing for the sport. They still are. You think these people will never retire, in a way. And to see them actually stop kind of puts things in perspective,바카라 said Bianca Andreescu, the 21-year-old Canadian who beat Williams in the 2019 U.S. Open final and eliminated 25th-seeded Marie Bouzkova 6-2, 6-4 on Monday. 바카라Roger wasn바카라t playing for a long time prior to his retirement, and even that time felt a bit weird. Serena was kind of up and down, too.바카라
So while in years past, one absence or another was met with shrugs of 바카라Don바카라t worry, she바카라ll be at the next one바카라 or 바카라Hey, he바카라s definitely going to come back, right?바카라 there is a concreteness about it all now, a finite knowing that they are, indeed, done. (No matter how much folks might keep looking for signs that Williams is not really and truly done.)
바카라Look, Serena Williams is irreplaceable. I mean, she바카라s an icon, both on and off the court,바카라 said Steve Simon, the head of the women바카라s tennis tour. 바카라The way that I look at it is: I don바카라t see us as losing Serena; we just will celebrate her and all of her accomplishments for many, many years to come and reflect back on what she바카라s brought to the game.바카라
Similar sentiments can be, and have been, expressed about Federer.
바카라Obviously,바카라 eight-time major champion John McEnroe said about Federer, 바카라there is a void that will never be filled.바카라
Still, the sport must proceed.
And so the start of proceedings on the blue hard courts of Melbourne glimpses of the faces and the games that will fill the empty space.
Players seeking a first Grand Slam title, such as a pair of American women ranked in the top 10, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, who both won in straight sets in matches that began shortly after 11 a.m. local time. As did Jannik Sinner, a lanky 21-year-old Italian man seen as among those with a shot to eventually get to the top. Scheduled for later action: Federer바카라s long-time rival, top-seeded Rafael Nadal, still at it at age 36 and owner of a men바카라s-record 22 Grand Slam trophies.
Even the other players find it a tad jarring to scan the Australian Open brackets and be well aware that there is no use looking for the names of Federer or Williams.
바카라For sure, it바카라s strange. They were great athletes, great players, legends of the game. But tennis still goes on, and there will be new players to look out for, new players who are going to win the Grand Slams,바카라 said Casper Ruud, a Norwegian seeded No. 2 in Melbourne and the runner-up at the French Open and U.S. Open last season. 바카라Hopefully we will see more first-time winners. That would be a dream come true.바카라
