AUSTRALIAN OPEN – MEN’S SINGLES
Novak Djokovic @ 8/11
Daniil Medvedev @ 9/2
Rafael Nadal @12/1
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AUSTRALIAN OPEN – WOMEN’S SINGLES
Aryana Sabalenka @ 2/1
Ons Jabeur @ 10/3
Belinda Bencic @ 4/1
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Those of you still in mourning that enduring soap opera Neighbours has finished will be delighted to learn that Netflix is just about to unveil Break Point – a new docuseries that also largely takes place in Melbourne, and that also features wooden, insincere, cliché-filled speeches; implausible storylines; and thinly-drawn, cartoonish characters.
There might be a bit more tennis going on in the background, though.
This year’s Australian Open is the first official post-Roger, post-Serena Grand Slam event, and the governing bodies of the sport will be hoping that Break Point will help casual sports-watchers realise that there are actually other good players out there you might like to support. Or even some Mrs Mangel-types that you’ll love to hate.
Unfortunately, the prelude to the first major of 2023 has been defined by the names who will be absent, rather than those who will actually be competing at Melbourne Park.
Carlos Alcaraz, for example, the reigning US Open Champion, and current ATP world number one, has had to withdraw due to injury. The Spanish teenage sensation has, however, been deemed fit enough to star as the new model for Calvin Klein underpants – so his disappointed fans will still get to see plenty of him.
A former world number one turned fashion model from the WTA side, Naomi Osaka, won’t be making the trip down under due to her recently-announced pregnancy. And Aussie hero Ash Barty, who won the 2022 event and then promptly retired, has also just announced her impending motherhood; so that’s two solid reasons to justify her absence.
Conversely, Novak Djokovic – a player whose potential participation at last year’s event caused a media storm, and who was subsequently banned from entering Australia for three years – will be at Melbourne. His ban having been lifted in November, Djokovic – back but unvaxxed – will arrive as the favourite to lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup on January 29th.
A niggling leg injury looks like being the most dangerous hurdle for the Serbian mentality monster, for whom another Australian Open triumph would be his record-extending 10th, and would bring him level with Rafael Nadal on 22 career Grand Slams. A quarter-final against Nick Kyrgios or rising-star Holger Rune will be another potentially painful jab he will hope to avoid.
Nadal, in the absence of Alcaraz, lands in Melbourne as the number one seed. But a low-key build-up means he begins his latest title joust relatively unfancied. A first round tie against big-hitting British prospect Jack Draper also presents one of the most dangerous openers he could have possibly drawn.
The man Nadal defeated in the 2022 final, Daniil Medvedev, hasn’t been quite the same player since that traumatising loss. And by finding himself in the tougher top-half of the draw, his hopes of re-establishing himself as a major contender will have taken a further dent.
In the women’s draw Iga Świątek will continue to wear the biggest target on her back. The defending French and US Open champion confidently stepped into the void left behind by Ash Barty last year, and has established an enormous WTA ranking points lead.
A recent defeat by the increasingly consistent Jessica Pegula suggests that the Pole isn’t quite operating at her invincible best, especially on the faster courts, and a stacked section of the draw awaits – she will have to play very well just to get to the quarter-finals.
Speculation will always surround Aryna Sabalenka on the eve of a major tournament, and she once again arrives playing like a world beater. Will this finally be the time she doesn’t leave playing like a rank amateur?
Let’s hope that there will be much more drama on the court than off it this year. That the event is more Grand Opera than Soap Opera. And while Netflix may hope to play their part in creating new breakout stars, the really easy way for the players to do it is to unleash their skill and win tennis tournaments.
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