End of an Era: The Absence of Nadal and Federer at the Australian Open

The absence of Rafa Nadal due to the muscle injury he suffered at the ATP 250 in Brisbane will mean that, for the first time in 25 years, the Australian Open will not feature him or Roger Federer. The last time neither of them was in the Oceanic Grand Slam was in the 1999 edition. The Swiss debuted in 2000 and did not miss any until 2021. In that time he won six titles (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 , 2017 and 2018).

Nadal, for his part, made his debut in 2004 (third round) and won in 2009 and 2022. I cannot be in 2006 or 2013 due to injury. When he won his first title in Melbourne, he made Federer cry in the final. “This is killing me,” he said at the trophy presentation, because the Balearic didn’t stop beating him at that time.

That was one of four meetings between Nadal and Federer in the tournament. Rafa won three, the aforementioned final in 2009, and the semifinals in 2012 and 2014, and Roger took revenge in the 2017 title match, although his enemy had a clear chance of winning.

In the absence of Nadal and Federer, Novak Djokovic will defend the Big Three flag in Melbourne, although the Serbian arrives with discomfort in his right wrist, which he showed a few days ago during the United Cup. The one from Belgrade has been 10 times champion of the Aussie major .

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2024-01-08 10:56:02
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