The skies are blue and the sun is unapologetically brazen, not uncommon in the Antipodes this time of the year. Melbourne Park, the sprawling grounds of the Happy Slam, overlooks the Yarra, gliding gently alongside a shimmering carpet.
The Australian Open, starting Sunday, is held far from the ructions of a world in a twirl, but even thousands of aeronautical miles isn’t quite far enough for tennis, struggling to move forward from issues of the past year. Ostensibly, a pair of gold standard 23-year-olds, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and five-time major winner Iga Swiatek, returned positive tests that rocked the core of the game.
