Gigi Salmon breaks down another incredible Australian Open, including the marathon men’s semi-final, why Elena Rybakina is better than the rest and reflects on losing her voice in the opening week! That’s it in her latest sky sports Pillar.

What a great ending to the Australian Open, which had been pretty straightforward and somewhat disappointing until the final Friday, the men’s semifinals. The draws were all won in straight sets, there were no big upsets, no real drama, and the weather grabbed more headlines than the tennis.

While working at a BBC in Melbourne, we developed a keen interest in Emma Raducanu, who lost to Anastasia Potapova in the second round and subsequently parted ways with coach Francis Roig after a few months together, while Cameron Norrie reached the third round, defeating third seed Sascha Zverev. Zverev), but ended up in fourth place.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t think Novak Djokovic has any chance of reaching the final, neither do I, and I still can’t see him winning a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam. It’s not that I don’t want him either, but for all the reasons we saw in Melbourne and the challenges faced by players much younger than Djokovic.

Even if you can get past one of them – and we all know who I’m talking about, he did it by knocking out defending champion Jannik Sinner – there’s a good chance another one is waiting for you.

Underscoring their dominance, they have shared the past nine Grand Slam titles, and no one I spoke to thinks that will change in the foreseeable future.

A special day in Melbourne Park

The men’s semi-final was one of the best tennis matches I have ever been to, starting at 2.30pm and ending at 1.30am the next day, with a total of 10 sets played and a game time of 9 hours and 36 minutes.

Alcaraz performed well against Zverev in the first semifinal, but suffered cramps late in the third set. Tournament rules allow for medical timeouts due to injuries but not muscle cramps, however, this is what the world number one mentioned in his post-match press conference: The decision was left to the head therapists and doctors who requested a medical timeout.

Zverev’s reaction was: “I don’t like it, but it’s not my decision, you have been protecting these two (Alcaraz and Sinner)”.

Zverev was unable to take advantage of the clearly hampered Alcaraz, allowing the Spaniard to get back on track, breaking through him on the German’s serve and then finishing the match himself.

If Zverev can’t find a way to deal with the scar tissue that has clearly formed and prevented him from stepping up and taking control when it matters most, he won’t be able to achieve his dream of winning a Grand Slam title.

We were still digesting what we saw in the first semi-final, when two-time defending champions Sinner and Djokovic took to the Rod Laver Arena, and the general consensus was that even though Djokovic was knocked out and retired in the final two rounds and Sinner suffered in the heat, the Italian would still get the job done and most likely win in straight sets, but we were wrong!

In his own words, Djokovic said the doubter played very well and served very well. Sinner would have a nightmare as he was unable to capitalize on his chances as he converted just two of 18 break points.

After four hours and nine minutes, the final would make history for both contestants!

I spent the afternoon asking past players for their final opinions, and all but one wanted Spain to win.

Their reasons, age and physical fitness! Alcaraz had recovered from cramp and it was too far for the 38-year-old Djokovic to get back to the level he needed to be, and that proved to be the case, although you wouldn’t expect that to happen when he finished in 35 minutes.

The world number one recovered from a set loss to beat Djokovic to win his first Australian Open title, his seventh Grand Slam title in eight finals, and said it was “a dream come true” at the age of 22.

Starring Rybakina

In my last column, I wrote that I wasn’t sure what role Rybakina would play as she proved to be a protagonist, winning her second Grand Slam title and first since Wimbledon in 2022.

Rybakina is ranked third in the world, and I believe she will be better than others at her best. If she can stay healthy and stable, it won’t be long before she challenges Aryna Sabalenka for the number one spot in the world.

She has lost just once in her last 21 games and looks content, I would never say happy, as she is difficult to read and gives very little information and will be a threat on all surfaces.

Now in back-to-back Australian Open finals, Sabalenka struggled in the finals, leading 3-0 in the deciding set and then, in her own words, losing focus.

Before that match, she, like Rybakina, had not dropped a set, while Brisbane champion Sabalenka remained undefeated all year.

For those who remember her meltdowns in Melbourne 12 months ago and at Roland Garros later this year, we didn’t see this, it was a more controlled performance when it came to her emotions and she said before the final that she had learned from last year.

Sabalenka’s next move will be interesting because last year she competed in two WTA 1000 events in Doha and Dubai, exiting both early, saying afterwards that she felt she came back too early and didn’t give herself enough time to process her loss in the Melbourne final.

We welcomed the British Champions to Melbourne Park as Neil Skupski won the Men’s Tag Team Championship with new partner Christian Harrison.

Last year was a difficult season for Neil, who reached six finals under the guidance of brother Ken, including performances at the French Open, U.S. Open and Tour Finals, but failed to win the title with partner Joe Salisbury. Neil has gained more than just a title in the new rankings, returning to No. 1 for the first time since November 2022.

What to do when you lose your voice during a Grand Slam match!

Some final thoughts and takeaways from the 2026 Australian Open, my favorite day so far was the men’s semi-finals, Sinner is now a worrying 0-8 in matches lasting over 3 hours and 48 minutes, Zverev needs to address why he can’t close big matches, and if you happen to lose your voice, like I did in week one, it doesn’t matter how much honey and lemon you drink. The only way to take it back is to not speak, which is something I struggle with!

During these two weeks I have been lucky enough to meet and work with some members of the Sky Sports Tennis team, as for Tim, he is back in Australia after five weeks, starting with his captaincy of Team GB in the Fed Cup, while Laura’s marathon training is going well, although that may be different in the weeks before she competes in the Winter Olympics, and I will be accompanying you to the WTA Doubles in Doha and Dubai.

Watch ATP and WTA Tour matches live on Sky Sports or Live with NOW and sky sports appthis year Sky Sports customers can watch more than 50% of live sports events for free. Learn more here.