Andy Murray: Gigi Salmon gives her take on the Scot’s coaching partnership with Novak Djokovic | Tennis News

In her latest Sky Sports column, Gigi Salmon discusses Madison Keys’ incredible run to Grand Slam glory, Jannik Sinner’s vice-like grip on men’s tennis and what could be next for Novak Djokovic after his work with Andy Murray at the Australian Open…

An eight hour flight delay at the end of a Grand Slam isn’t ideal, but it gives me a chance to sit down and think back on the two weeks that we have had at Melbourne Park. In terms of leaving Australia we have timed it well, with the temperature hitting 42 degrees as I left for the airport.

It’s very easy to know where to start and that’s with new Australian Open champion Madison Keys, who is a player many of us have been watching for years wondering if she would fulfil her potential.

“I felt like from a pretty young age, if I never won a Grand Slam, then I wouldn’t have lived up to what people thought I should have been,” Keys said after her victory. “That was a pretty heavy burden to kind of carry around.”

At 29, newly married and with husband and coach Bjorn Fratangelo in her corner, she not only did it but she did it in style!

Bruising run to Grand Slam glory for Keys

To become a Grand Slam Champion you have to win seven matches, you will come across obstacles along the way, but it’s hard to think of a tougher draw in recent times than the one Key faced.

It included former Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins in the third round followed by former Wimbledon Champion Elena Rybakina, then it was Elina Svitolina before following those bruising encounters by taking out the world No 2 and world No 1 in successive rounds.

A highlight of the second week was Key’s semi-final clash with Iga Swiatek, where she closed it out in a match tie-break in the third. Interestingly, from speaking to a number of people, they were split with what they made of the final in terms of quality of tennis.

For me personally, while I don’t think that by the end of the year it will be in my top five WTA matches of the year (the semi-final will), if I put together a ‘what it means’ or ‘how they closed it out’ top five then I’m not sure it will be beaten!

Keys also spoke afterwards very honestly about her journey to becoming a Grand Slam champion, which has been full of injuries and expectation, where she credited therapy with getting her to where she is now.

“Just being really honest and actually getting help and actually talking to someone, and not just about tennis but about how I felt about myself,” Keys explained. “I honestly think that had I not done that, then I wouldn’t be sitting here.”

People have also been quite vocal about Sabalenka’s reaction to losing which saw her smashing her racket on the ground, while Keys was taking in the applause of the crowd.

Now, while – in an ideal world – Sabalenka wouldn’t have done that, none of us can put ourselves in her position. The emotion, the adrenalin – this is what she lives and breathes every single day, so I think we can let her off this once!

So my tip for the women’s title fell at the final hurdle, but my tip for the men’s sprinted to the finish and barely broke sweat in the final!

Sinner played with ‘clear mind’ ahead of CAS hearing

Jannik Sinner didn’t face a single break point as he completed the successful defence of his title in a straight sets win over Alexander Zverev, who said after he collected his runner-up plate: “I’m just not good enough.”

Sinner has now won 37 of his last 38 matches, having dropped just two sets through seven rounds, leaving him in a comfortable position at the top of the world rankings with a total of 11830 points – 3,695 clear of second placed Zverev.

It’s a good lead for now but it’s one he may need, with the date set for WADAs (World Anti-Doping Agency) appeal against the decision not to ban Sinner for his failed drug tests in March. That will be heard at CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) on April 16-17, behind closed doors.

Sinner has said that he has been able to play as well as he has due to a ‘clear mind’ about the events that led to the failed test. With the appeal hearing taking place around a month before the French Open, a ban could rule him out of both the French and Wimbledon and that’s if it’s on the short side!

What next for Djokovic and Murray?

There was no threepeat for Sabalenka as I thought there would be and we are still waiting to see if the Novak Djokovic-Andy Murray partnership will continue, following Djokovic falling short in his bid for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam victory.

“Novak and I agreed that after the tournament we would speak – and we will do that,” Djokovic said after his exit.

The feeling around Djokovic is that Wimbledon will be his next best chance to win Grand Slam title number 25, providing his body heals by then.

If you want to see the damage that was done in his quarter-final against Carlos Alcaraz, take a look at social media. You will find his scan and he felt the need to upload it, with so many people doubting the severity of his injury or if he was injured at all!

He is down to play in Doha next month, which you can watch live on Sky Sports Tennis, although that seems a bit soon.

One thing is for certain is that if he is to win another title – at whatever level – he will need to play matches, but it’s finding that balance between playing matches and listening to your body.

We’ve seen a couple of high-profile coaching changes in recent weeks, with Elena Rybakina splitting with Goran Ivanisevic. That’s something that seemed inevitable as soon as Rybakina posted on Instagram saying that she was welcoming back her former coach Stefano Vukov to the team.

‘Three’s a crowd’ springs to mind, in what is a messy situation, and it will be interesting to see if Ivanisevic stays on the WTA tour.

There will also be a new coach for Emma Raducanu, after Nick Cavaday stepped back to prioritise his health.

British success in Melbourne

There was British success at the Australian Open for Henry Patten and his partner Harri Heliovaara, winning their second Grand Slam doubles title. While Henry promised Tim Henman, Laura Robson and I he would work on his celebrations when they win, I can confirm that Harri is still the stand out in the department.

Andy Lapthorne won an eighth quad wheelchair men’s doubles title, while Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett continued their domination in the men’s wheelchair doubles event with their sixth successive title.

Tears flowed for Alfie after he secured a straight sets win over top seed and his on court nemesis, 18-year-old Tokito Oda, who won Paralympic gold over the Brit last summer and has won their last three major finals.

“To try and beat this guy in a final is an impossible task it seems, so I am very happy and overwhelmed with emotion to get my hands on this trophy,” Hewett said.

So that’s now 10 Grand Slam singles titles to go with his Paralympic silver, 22 doubles titles together with Paralympic gold and at the age of 27, still plenty more tennis to be played!

Some good news is that I wasn’t fired as Daniela Hantuchova’s coach, and while nearly falling into the river Yarra on one of my morning runs while still jet lagged and without my contact lenses in I managed to stay on dry land!

There is so much to talk about when it comes to tennis at the moment, but I will stop before I go on for too long!

I will be seeing Tim and Laura later this week which I’m really looking forward to. This is when Sky Sports Tennis really comes into it’s own, following the tour from event to event and showcasing the players and the stories as they look to build on what happened in Australia.

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