On the one hand, as a nine-time champion, he is the record winner at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, on the other hand, he has recently shown good form, as the victory at the preparatory tournament in Adelaide showed. However, Djokovic has been slightly injured lately, on Wednesday he stopped training with Daniil Medvedev prematurely because of a left leg strain.
But that can probably be classified as a security measure. If Djokovic is in top form, there is hardly a way around him on the way to the title. If the Serb wins his 22nd major title after the emotional roller coaster he had to go through a year ago in Melbourne, including a stopover in a deportation hotel, he will draw level with leader Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard had used the absence of “Djoker” perfectly to win the tournament last year.
Start for Australian Open
The first Grand Slam tournament of the year starts in Melbourne with the Australian Open. Rafael Nadal takes a relaxed approach to defending his title.
“Almost impossible to bet against Novak”
For tennis legend John McEnroe, both Djokovic and Nadal can still do a lot. “In my opinion, the two are just fighting each other, so they have a real incentive to win a few more tournaments before they stop,” said the American. And that’s why he sees Djokovic for Melbourne and Nadal for Paris as favorites. “It’s almost impossible to bet against Novak in Melbourne and against ‘Rafa’ in Paris.”
After the injury-related cancellation of the Spanish promoted Carlos Alacaraz, who became number one in the world with the US Open title last year, it is again Djokovic and Nadal who make the headlines. After the resignation of Roger Federer, the “big three” era was reduced to a duel of the “big two”.
Nadal ‘in good shape’
Nadal had previously lost the two United Cup games against Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaur after a long break, but was unimpressed. “It’s true that I haven’t been able to play a lot of tennis in recent months and I lost two matches in Sydney at the start of the season, but to be honest I’m not dissatisfied with the preparation,” said the 36-year-old confidently. “I train a lot and I think I’m in good shape.”
The Australian Nick Kyrgios is also among the favorites. “I’m one of the best players in the world. I’ve proven that I can go far in a Grand Slam,” said last year’s Wimbledon finalist. Of course, the Russian Medvedev, who only lost in the final in each of the past two years, also wants to have a say in the title. Finally, the Norwegian promoted Casper Ruud also proved his entitlement to great things with the finals at the French and US Opens as well as at the ATP Finals.
Thiem before a difficult task
Dominic Thiem has to bake far smaller rolls: The four-time major finalist, who won the US Open title in 2020, lost in the first round of the French Open before his wrist injury suffered in 2021 and after his comeback again in Paris and most recently in New York in round one. With the “horrorless” Rublev, the Russian number six in the world, there is a good chance that Thiem will continue this negative series. The Lower Austrian is in Melbourne thanks to a wild card and has a 2: 4 record against Rublew.
Swiatek clear number one
The women’s titleholder is missing because Ashleigh Barty ended her career after the long-awaited home triumph of an Australian. After that, the 21-year-old Pole Iga Swiatek dominated the season. Last year she won the major titles in Roland Garros and at the US Open and leads the world rankings with more than twice as many points (11,025) ahead of Tunisian Ons Jabeur (5,180). Like Djokovic, Swiatek starts the tournament as a favorite. Recently, however, she had shoulder problems and therefore canceled her start in Adelaide.
There is a great balance behind Swiatek and with that there are plenty of contenders for the title should Swiatek stumble. And that was often the case with the Pole recently, she only won two of her last nine tournaments. Jabeur was the first Arab to reach a major final last year and was even in the final twice at Wimbledon and the US Open. “I do everything possible to win a Grand Slam. This year 2023 I want to be free and play my game,” said the 28-year-old Tunisian beforehand.
Difficult fate for Grabher too
For the first time in a long time, Julia Grabher is an Austrian in the main draw of a major. The chances of the Vorarlberg native to take the first hurdle are not high: Estonian Anett Kontaveit, seeded number 16, is the clear favourite. Grabher lost the only duel with Kontaveit in February 2020 at the Billie Jean King Cup in Tallinn 1: 6 2: 6.
