Clouds down under

Jannik Sinner of Italy won the Australian Open men's singles tennis tournament over the weekend, beating Sascha Zverev of Germany in straight sets. Sinner, the world's no. 1-ranked singles player, showed off his impressive game, taking control early and leaving no doubt about how the match would come out. Zverev forced a tiebreaker in the second set, but Sinner is deadly in tiebreakers, and so even that part of the match wasn't too suspenseful.

At the awards ceremony, things went from boring to depressing in a hurry. Zverev, whose speech was summed up when he blurted out "I'm just not good enough," was heckled loud and clear about the domestic abuse charges he has faced in recent years. He's settled the cases, but the blowback oviously isn't over. Then Sinner took the microphone and said some uplifting words, but they rang pretty hollow in light of the fact that he's facing doping charges, and potentially a long suspension on account of them.

The dismal closing ceremony capped off a week in which Novak Djokovic of Serbia got into it not only with the local press but with the spectators as well, and Danielle Collins of the United States and the fans also openly disrespected each other. The audience in Melbourne seems determined to get as rowdy and obnoxious as the one in New York, which is a real turnoff on any continent. 

Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev of Russia acted out his frustrations in a most unprofessional way, destroying a net camera, violently breaking his racquet, and blowing off a mandatory press conference. And the runner-up in the women's singles, Aryna Sabalenka, after smashing her racquet at the end of the championship match, went backstage where she and her coaches mimed urinating on her second-place trophy. 

The high-class players of old, like Rafael Nadal and Martina Navratilova to name just two, sure are missed. At least one good person won: the American Madison Keys. She didn't break anything except Sabalenka's serve. 

We'll see where things stand when everybody gets on the red clay in Paris in May. I hope it's a happier time.