Maria Bueno gives her thoughts on this year’s Australian Open results
About performances at the Australian Open
In January, Maria kept a close eye on the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, held in Melbourne.
“TV Globo do not hold the rights to the Australian Open in Brazil so I wasn’t commentating but I still have to keep in touch with what is happening because it is history in the making,” she explained.
“There were some amazing performances and a lot of early upsets, such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the men’s and Ana Ivanovic and Petra Kvitova in the women’s.
“In the end, it was the two top women in the final, just as the seeding predicted!
Serena Williams won her 19th Grand Slam title in Melbourne, despite feeling unwell.
“Serena [Williams] won her 19th Grand Slam singles title which is a fantastic achievement, especially since she wasn’t at all well during the tournament, suffering from flu.
“Her dominance of women’s tennis, particularly Maria Sharapova, is extraordinary and although Maria made a match of the final, she still wasn’t able to make much impact of Serena’s serve and lost in straight sets.”
Good for Venus
Venus Williams had her best run in a Grand Slam for several years to reach the quarters.
“I should mention Venus [Williams], who had such a good run to the quarters and lost to Madison Keys there,” Maria continued.
“It’s great to see her doing well again, considering everything she has had to deal with over the past few years.
“As for Keys, we saw what a rare talent she is and that she is not afraid of the big stage but enjoys big occasions.
Novak Djokovic maintained his dominance of the men’s game by winning in Melbourne
“Novak Djokovic won his 5th Australian title which is remarkable in itself and he had quite a fight on his hands in the final against Andy Murray over the first two sets of fantastic tennis.
“Unfortunately Andy fell away, allowing himself to lose focus after an early break in the third and that was all Djokovic needed to run away with the title.
“Murray will learn from the experience but he must be bitterly disappointed to lose his 4th final in Melbourne.
Andy Murray and Amelie Mauresmo’s coaching relationship is proving to be a winner
“It is to his credit that he made it there after playing some impressive tennis throughout the two weeks, proving his coaching relationship with Amelie Mauresmo is working since he has now returned to the top four in the rankings.
“A lot has been said about Murray hiring Mauresmo and I am pleased that the arrangement is finding success because I believe women can be just as a good coaches as men given the chance!
Thinking ahead
“What the Australian Open does is lay the foundation of what we can expect over the coming months ahead of Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
“For sure, Djokovic is desperate to win in Paris after losing there several times in the final and yet to get his hands of the trophy.
Rafael Nadal was happy to get to the quarters, everything considered.
“Rafa survived a second round thriller only to lose to Tomas Berdych in the quarters and is definitely below his best after months away from the tour through yet more injury and surgery so he has to work hard to get match fit again if he is to be effective on the clay at Roland Garros.
“As for Roger, he was playing so well coming into Melbourne, having won his 1,000th match on the tour and the title at Brisbane so losing to Andreas Seppi in the third round was the shock of the men’s draw.
“Everyone has a bad day from time to time but Roger will need to bounce back quickly after that as, at 33, players are looking to exploit every weakness. I still think he can win another Wimbledon title though.”
Maria Bueno at last year’s Rio Open
What’s next?
Maria is now preparing for the Brazilian events, starting with the Brasil Open in Sao Paulo next week followed by the Rio Open the week after and the Davis Cup in early March.
“It’s going to be a busy schedule as in addition to working the matches for TV, I have several personal appearances to make for various sponsors, including Rolex, and some clinics and things,” said Maria.
“I am looking forward to it!”