The first Grand Slam of the year has come and gone in a flash and the end result was unsurprisingly what pretty much everybody predicted before the first ball was hit two weeks ago: Novak Djokovic winning a 6th title in Melbourne.
Yet it wasn't just the world No.1 who had a fantastic fortnight, although for some, their experiences Down Under in 2016, they will hope, will be forgotten in a hurry.
Winners
Novak Djokovic: Let's start with the champion. A record-equalling sixth title, an 11th Grand Slam and seemingly looking unstoppable and unbeatable. Very early days of course, but the first piece of the Calendar Slam (as it's an Olympic year, Calendar Golden Slam?) is in place and it's hard to fathom who on earth is going to get close in a best of five sets match.
Someone's going to have to play the match of their life (e.g. Stan Wawrinka in last year's French Open final) or Djokovic will have to have a horror show (e.g. hitting 100 unforced errors in his 4th round encounter with Gilles Simon, although Djokovic still won).
Yet let's not take anything away from this magnificent athlete and champion, who is now seriously being considered a genuine candidate to become the greatest tennis player of all time.
Some might see him that way already, some might think he needs to win at Roland Garros, whilst others will have you believe he needs to surpass Roger Federer's tally of 17 major titles to take that honour. The eye-watering & frightening prospect for the rest is, is that he's somehow managed to have improved and that Djokovic isn't going to be resting on his laurels.
Andy Murray: This could very well be considered a strange one since Murray lost in the final for the fifth time, becoming just the second player ever, after his former coach Ivan Lendl, to have lost in five finals at the same Slam (although Lendl, who lost at the US Open in the championship match on this many occasions did win the title three times).
It's become a familiar sight seeing the Scot wearily looking on as Djokovic delivers another winning speech on the Rod Laver Arena, an image which global audiences have now seen four times in the past six years.
However, Murray continues to put himself in positions to win these major titles, especially in Melbourne. His Grand Slam final record may read 2-7, but his consistency when it comes to the big events cannot be taken away from him.
It has been a stressful and emotional couple of weeks as well, what with his father-in-law Nigel Sears having health problems and wife Kim thousands of miles away. But at the end of the day, nothing else matters really for Murray, because he's soon to be a father for the first time and it doesn't get better than that.
Milos Raonic: It's been a stellar start to the year for the ever-improving Milos Raonic, who has put his injury problems of last year behind him and has wiped the slate clean, emerging back to the forefront of the next generation of stars and future Slam champions (he hopes).
Although ironically and sadly for the Canadian, an adductor injury curtailed his performance in the semi-finals against Murray, where he was a set away from his first major final. A huge disappointment for Raonic, who admitted afterwards that it was the "most heartbroken" he had ever felt after a match.
Doubters, though, have been forced to sit up and take notice once again of the 25-year-old who can look back on the first month of the year with a head very much held high. Winning the Brisbane title, where he defeated Federer and then when it came to Melbourne, knocking out former champ Wawrinka, reaching just his second last-four major appearance where he pushed Murray all the way. Raonic is starting to take it to the big guys and they, and those watching, know it.
Other success stories:
Lleyton Hewitt may have been defeated in the 2nd round to David Ferrer, but the tournament's iconic image will most likely be the popular Aussie's departure for the very last time. "Rusty" battled on, in every single point, as if it were his last. Of course, we knew his last point was to be in home soil, but the former world No.1 can look back on a career where he won Wimbledon and US Open crowns and won the hearts of millions across the world.
One name who went under the radar, which has sort of been the case for his career, is Roberto Bautista Agut. The Spaniard's start to 2016 has been tremendous, winning the title in Auckland and reaching the last-16 in Melbourne for the second time. He ultimately succumbed to Tomas Berdych, as his wait for a first major quarter-final goes on, but he did push the Czech all the way and did defeat former US Open champ Marin Cilic in the previous round. He's also top seed in Sofia this week, so his start of the year could get even better.
Losers
Rafael Nadal: Where on earth does the 14-time Grand Slam champion go from here? A first round exit to fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, who avenged his defeat from their 2009 semi-final, meant Nadal was quickly packing his bags for home. Things wouldn't get better for the champion from seven years ago, as Djokovic winning the tournament meant he got the tournament's wooden spoon (Nadal < Verdasco < Sela < Kuznetsov < Monfils < Raonic < Murray < Djokovic). Ouch.
He wasn't expected to challenge for the title in Melbourne, but no-one foresaw his departure on the second day of the tournament. Verdasco of course proved to be a tough cookie, as was expected, yet it was thought Nadal would have enough to go through.
He had enjoyed a decent start to the year as well, winning the Abu Dhabi exhibition, beating Ferrer and Raonic, and getting to the Doha final, where he ultimately lost to Djokovic. At the moment, it's tough to see how he gets back to the top of the game, especially after this shock performance.
Stan Wawrinka: Murray would have breathed a huge sigh of relief when, as it turned out, his semi-final opponent Raonic defeated the man who was expected to be across the net from the Scot in the last-four in the form of Stan Wawrinka. The 2014 champion's last-16 exit was, but in a way, wasn't a surprise. Raonic is always a dangerous opponent, especially with his off-season improvements, yet Stan the Man showed his frustrating inconsistency on the hard courts of Melbourne.
The French Open champ, on his day, as proven when he handed Djokovic his only Slam defeat of 2015, is unplayable. There is however an underlying tendency for Wawrinka to be a bit of a letdown after a big triumph and since his win on the red clay of Paris last early summer, the Swiss No.2 hasn't scaled those heights since. He may have two major titles to his name and is the world No.4, but he is kind of treading middle ground: good enough to be ahead of the next generation, not consistent enough to really turn a "Big Four" into a "Big Five."
Other disappointments:
A straight sets defeat in a 2nd round match for anybody would of course bring with it a downbeat mood to any player. Yet Jack Sock himself wasn't the loser in this case, but the fans, who sadly wouldn't be treated to more of the talented young American. Nebraskan-born Sock was forced to retire during the Auckland final against Bautista Agut through illness and never really recovered, despite coming from behind to get through his first round match in Melbourne versus Taylor Fritz. Sock, had he been 100%, could have been a sticking point for Wawrinka in round three and had he caused the upset, who knows how far he could have gone. A shame for the viewers.
Meanwhile, for Marin Cilic, he has still yet to rediscover the form that took him to the US Open crown 18 months ago. Injury niggles have played their part, although the Croatian and 12th seed Down Under would have severely disheartened by the manner of his straight sets defeat in the third round, albeit to the inform Bautista Agut. Getting matches under his belt will obviously help, as he looks to return to the heights which proved oh so well in New York in 2014, but getting back there won't be easy and it won't be a quick process.