![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Snip20180205_8-175x300.png\")
<\/a>Maria Esther Bueno is glad 2018 has rolled around, especially since another tennis season is now well under way and the first Grand Slam of the year has proven to be such a thriller with great Aussie finals.<\/p>\n\u201cThe Australian Open turned out to be incredible in so many ways and the two finals were amazing,\u201d Maria Esther told her website last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo see Caroline Wozniacki win her first major was like a fairy tale come true for her, and Roger [Federer] winning his twentieth Grand Slam was just amazing, at his age and what he has been through.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the tournament began, everyone was talking about whether Rafa [Nadal], [Novak] Djokovic, Andy [Murray] and [Stan] Wawrinka would play after their long time off.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was sorry Andy couldn\u2019t make it because of his hip and surprised he had a procedure in Melbourne to correct the problem.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/andy-murray-300x158.jpg\")
<\/a>Andy Murray<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cThe fact he expects to be playing by the grass court season suggests this wasn\u2019t any kind of hip replacement surgery but rather keyhole, and it is only a shame he didn\u2019t do it last summer as he could have saved himself a lot of time but, of course, we don\u2019t know the full story and he clearly hoped he could get better through rest and rehab.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth Roger and Rafa have proven that that can work, and made successful comebacks after their injuries, so we will have to see how Andy gets on.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ausopen2018_06_ron_angle-720x320-300x133.jpg\")
<\/a>Novak Djokovic<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t seemed to have worked for Djokovic though, who has elbow trouble, and I know how tricky and persistent that can be.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe couldn\u2019t get through Melbourne and it was obvious he was still in pain when he played the young Korean, Chung Hyeon.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeaking of Chung, I first really noticed him winning the Next Gen Final in Milan last year and was very impressed by how he plays.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/0-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>Chung Hyeon<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cChung rose to the occasion in Australia and really made a name for himself when he beat Djokovic in the fourth round and then made it all the way through to the semis where, unfortunately, he didn\u2019t play well enough against Roger and then retired because he was suffering from bad blisters on his feet.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was good to see some young players coming through, though.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Kyle-Edmund-AO-2018-300x169.jpg\")
<\/a>Kyle Edmund<\/p><\/div>\n
“Kyle Edmund played amazing tennis to get into the semis where he seemed to run our of gas against Marin Cilic, which was a pity, and later we heard he had picked up a hip injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cKyle took out Grigor Dimitrov on the way, who was one of the favourites, and is looking to be a great British No 2 behind Andy now.<\/p>\n
\u201cSadly, Rafa retired from his quarter-final against Cilic in the fifth set, troubled by an injury to his upper right leg, and that turned out to be hip trouble too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later the 31-year-old Spaniard launched a\u00a0scathing attack on the surfaces used in Melbourne, which he believes are too firm and may lead to a long standing injury, alluding to there being more injuries at the Australian Open than in any other Grand Slam.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/t_nadal_r3_mca_19012018_01-300x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Rafael Nadal<\/p><\/div>\n
“Somebody who is running the tour should think [a] little bit about what’s going on,\u201d Nadal said after the match. \u201cToo many people [are] getting injured. I don’t know if they have to think a little bit about the health of the players.<\/p>\n
“Not for now that we are playing, but there is life after tennis. I don’t know if we keep playing [on these] very, very hard surfaces what’s going to happen in the future with our lives.”<\/p>\n
Maria Esther is sympathetic to his view.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a point,\u201d she said. \u201cMatches are mostly on hard courts these days and although they recently extended the grass court season, it is still only about six weeks long, while there aren\u2019t so many clay court tournaments anymore either.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Pdilckw1Edd2bLa5-300x170.jpg\")
<\/a>Djokovic takes a medical time out during the Australian Open<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cAlso players are required to play a lot of mandatory tournaments so if they have some sort of niggly injury, they don\u2019t have enough time to deal with fixing the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are fortunate there are great trainers on tour these days, who do an amazing job, but year after year it all builds up long-term problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roger Federer defended his Australian Open title, with a relatively easy run to the final but was made to fight for his twentieth Grand Slam title, being taken to five sets by Cilic and winning through, 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3 3-6 6-1.<\/p>\n
He continues to baffle his opponents as he rewrites the record books when, at the age of 36, he won his 6th Australian Open title to join current record holders Novak Djokovic and Roy Emerson and, in the process, became the second oldest player to win the title after Ken Rosewall.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/39e479209419941ee01a32d6f7b826f6-265x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Roger Federer<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cRoger re-invented himself a couple of years ago with the help of Stefan Edberg, who told him he needed to volley if he was going to win as he got older,\u201d said Maria Esther.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has managed to improve his serve and his backhand too, and he now plays an all-round game that puts a lot of pressure on his opponents because he is going for the net whenever he can. It\u2019s great to see!<\/p>\n
\u201cThe final was a bit controversial in that it was played at night under a closed roof and we couldn\u2019t really understand why.\u201d<\/p>\n
Organisers only activate the tournament extreme heat policy and call matches off or shut the roof when the temperature is 40 Celsius and the wet bulb globe temperature index hits 32.5 Celsius.<\/p>\n
When the umpire called time to commence the match, the wet bulb temperature was 32.6 and forecast to remain high.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tournament referee made this decision based on qualified and professional advice from the Bureau of Meteorology who are on site, and the tournament\u2019s Chief Medical Officer,\u201d organisers said.<\/p>\n
It was the first time during the 2018 event it had been invoked, and Cilic was not happy.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/62662223.cms_-300x201.jpeg\")
<\/a>Marin Cilic [Photo REUTERS\/Thomas Peter]<\/p><\/div>\u201cYou know, throughout the tournament I played all my matches outdoors, also [I was] preparing for a hot day, 38 degrees,\u201d the Croatian sixth seed said after losing to Roger Federer in five tough sets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen first match, for the final, to play with the roof closed, it\u2019s difficult. With the roof closed, it was way, way cooler than I expected. That was very, very difficult, especially for the final to be in that kind of a situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maria Esther observed that several players had questioned the heat policy in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were sometimes playing in over 40 degrees on hard courts, which makes it even hotter, so this was a strange decision, I think.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarin started slowly in the final and it looked like Roger would win easily so all credit to him for fighting back and taking it to into a fifth set.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2018-australian-open-842-matches-to-have-live-broadcast-300x169.jpg\")
<\/a>Roger Federer celebrates<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cI am very pleased for Roger and you could see how much this all meant to him – he was so emotional during the presentation that some people thought he won\u2019t be back next year but I don\u2019t think he has any plan to retire yet, so long as he stays healthy and competitive anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Federer was delighted with his win: “I’ve won three Slams now in 12 months. I can’t believe it myself.<\/p>\n
“I just got to keep a good schedule, stay hungry, then maybe good things can happen. Then I don’t think age is an issue, per se. It’s just a number.<\/p>\n
“But I need to be very careful in my planning, really decide beforehand what are my goals, what are my priorities. I think that’s what’s going to dictate how successful I will be.<\/p>\n
“These are exciting times ahead. But, no, as a professional, it’s what we do. But I’m happy I’m in that position right now.”<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/federer-m3-300x167.jpg\")
<\/a>Am emotional Roger Federer wins 20th Grand Slam title [Photo REUTERS\/Issei Kato]<\/p><\/div>Federer needs four more Grand Slam titles to equal the all-time record but thinks that is too far, dismissing his chances of claiming the outright record.<\/p>\n
The 36-year-old moved four clear of Rafael Nadal in the overall men\u2019s standings and taking him to fourth on the all-time list behind Margaret Court, Serena Williams and Steffi Graf, who have 24, 23 and 22 respectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think 20 was ever possible,\u201d Federer said. \u201cI think it\u2019s too far. I never thought about it to be honest but those numbers are surreal and they\u2019re amazing. I\u2019m very happy if it stays at 20.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
The Women’s Draw<\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/maxresdefault-300x169.jpg\")
<\/a>Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki<\/p><\/div>\n
Without Serena in the Australian many thought the women\u2019s draw was wide open but as it happened, the current World No 1 and 2 made it through to the final, although both had to save match points against them on the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe women\u2019s presentation was also an emotional affair with Caroline [Wozniacki] in tears too,\u201d laughed Maria Esther.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe match against Simona Halep was a real classic because it had everything and took a little under three hours.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Halep-AO18-R3a-Getty-300x193.jpg\")
<\/a>Simona Halep [Photo XIN LI\/Getty Images]<\/p><\/div>\u201cThey were both playing for their first Grand Slam title as well as the No 1 spot in the world, so you can understand they were prepared to fight to the bitter end, and you really couldn\u2019t tell who was going to win as the other came back every time one of them got ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat match was played with the roof open and it was very hot so the conditions were very tough.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was always going to be a huge disappointment for whoever lost that match and a tremendous high for the winner!\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/960-300x194.jpg\")
<\/a>Caroline Wozniacki celebrates<\/p><\/div>\n
Twelve years on tour, 67 weeks at\u00a0World No 1, 149 Grand Slam matches played, 3 major finals and countless disappointments were all made worthwhile when Wozniacki was crowned Australian Open champion.<\/p>\n
An epic 7-6(2) 3-6 6-4 win against Halep in in brutal heat and humidity also elevated her back to the top of the\u00a0world\u00a0rankings after a six-year hiatus, the longest gap in history between spells at the top.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, nobody knows how much work, dedication you put into it,\u201d she told reporters with the winner\u2019s Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy by her side.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/media-151705611961259300.jpg\")
<\/a>Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cBeing here tonight as a Grand Slam champion, Australian Open champion, it\u2019s very special,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard from the [Danish] royal family \u2014 they\u2019ve congratulated me, they were very thrilled for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Poor Halep went to the hospital, staying there for four hours due to dehydration before being discharged on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
\nRio Open<\/h2>\n
\u201cAfter the excitement of Melbourne, it\u2019s time to focus nearer home now,\u201d said Maria Esther. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to the Rio Open in a few week\u2019s time.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki<\/p><\/div>\n
Without Serena in the Australian many thought the women\u2019s draw was wide open but as it happened, the current World No 1 and 2 made it through to the final, although both had to save match points against them on the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe women\u2019s presentation was also an emotional affair with Caroline [Wozniacki] in tears too,\u201d laughed Maria Esther.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe match against Simona Halep was a real classic because it had everything and took a little under three hours.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Simona Halep [Photo XIN LI\/Getty Images]<\/p><\/div>\u201cThey were both playing for their first Grand Slam title as well as the No 1 spot in the world, so you can understand they were prepared to fight to the bitter end, and you really couldn\u2019t tell who was going to win as the other came back every time one of them got ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat match was played with the roof open and it was very hot so the conditions were very tough.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was always going to be a huge disappointment for whoever lost that match and a tremendous high for the winner!\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>Caroline Wozniacki celebrates<\/p><\/div>\n
Twelve years on tour, 67 weeks at\u00a0World No 1, 149 Grand Slam matches played, 3 major finals and countless disappointments were all made worthwhile when Wozniacki was crowned Australian Open champion.<\/p>\n
An epic 7-6(2) 3-6 6-4 win against Halep in in brutal heat and humidity also elevated her back to the top of the\u00a0world\u00a0rankings after a six-year hiatus, the longest gap in history between spells at the top.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, nobody knows how much work, dedication you put into it,\u201d she told reporters with the winner\u2019s Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy by her side.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cBeing here tonight as a Grand Slam champion, Australian Open champion, it\u2019s very special,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard from the [Danish] royal family \u2014 they\u2019ve congratulated me, they were very thrilled for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Poor Halep went to the hospital, staying there for four hours due to dehydration before being discharged on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
\n
Rio Open<\/h2>\n
\u201cAfter the excitement of Melbourne, it\u2019s time to focus nearer home now,\u201d said Maria Esther. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to the Rio Open in a few week\u2019s time.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/foto_lineup_site_577x361.5a5609bc474e4-300x188.jpg\")
<\/a>