Australian Open day 13 recap: Barty Queen, environmentalist Nole, Nadal...

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After the victories at the Roland Garros and Wimbledon, Ashleigh Barty also adds the title at home at the Australian Open 2022 to the Slam collection and confirms, if needed, the status of super number one. The home player, who in ten appearances had never passed the semifinal cut, closes the tournament in 2022 (after the victory in Adelaide) with an extraordinary active of 73-29 and balance of the sets and a super comeback, if nothing else in the second set, against Danielle Collins in the final.

The final ended 6-3 7-6 (3). Collins had won the most recent of the previous ones, right at the Australian Open, exactly twelve months ago. In short: Barty brings the Australian flag back to the champions' wall 44 years after Chris O’Neil, while the American breaks the Top 10 wall for the first time in her career.

Toni Nadal spoke on the Antena 3 news, saying how close his nephew Rafael Nadal was to retire: "Rafa told me he didn't know if he could continue playing. He spent a few months where he wasn't very clear about his situation.

I remember talking to him and telling him that everything is fine that ends well, but he replied that he did not know if he would be able to continue playing. Evidently he had doubts: when you have an injury and you know you have a waiting time, you feel more or less well, but when you can't find a solution, it's normal to get a little more desperate."

The best and the worst from Melbourne Park

A declared environmentalist Novak Djokovic has always been discussing a particular choice right now.

Nole is in fact one of the main architects of the protest against the extraction of lithium in Serbia. The well-known Anglo-Australian multinational (still battle with Australia) Rio Tinto had requested the use of Serbian deposits to be able to extract lithium, an increasingly widespread material for the creation of electric cars but the Serbian government has currently blocked all this, and among the main supporters of this choice is the number one in the world.

Meanwhile, relations between the Serbian and Australian governments are increasingly cold and undoubtedly one of the main reasons for this coldness concerns the number one in the world Novak Djokovic. Speaking to Eurosport, John McEnroe said he would love to see Roger Federer back on the court.

"Needless to say, Roger Federer is most missed when there are big tournaments. We are talking about the most stylish and popular player ever seen on a tennis court. I would love to see him on tour again." (Pic by AO Twitter page)