MELBOURNE: Nine-time Melbourne champion Novak Djokovic will be returning to the first Grand Slam of the year after being banned from last year’s Australian Open. With world number one Carlos Alcaraz out injured, and following the retirement of great Roger Federer, Djokovic’s main competition will be with the defending champion, Rafael Nadal.
Here are five men to watch when the first major of 2023 begins on Monday:
Novak Djokovic
The 21-time Grand Slam winner is back at Melbourne Park for the first time since clinching his ninth title in 2021. The Serb national was kicked out of Australia ahead of the tournament last year over his Covid vaccination stance.
The former world number one also missed the US Open for the same reason, but won Wimbledon and is a favourite at the most successful major event of his career.
He finished a troubled last year with a record-equalling sixth ATP Tour Finals crown and began 2023 in unbeatable form, winning his 92nd career title at the Adelaide International.
The only concern is a minor hamstring injury which forced him to prematurely end a practice match against Daniil Medvedev earlier this week.
Rafael Nadal
The 36-year-old Spaniard took full advantage of Djokovic’s absence to win the Australian Open title in 2022, outlasting Medvedev over five sets in a more than five-hour thriller. He made history in the process becoming the first man to achieve 21 Grand Slam singles crowns, making it 22 after winning a 14th French Open title.
But his season was hampered by injuries and he withdrew from Wimbledon after a victory in the quarter-final and exited in the last 16 at the US Open.
Now a father, Nadal was unable to find his best form at the ATP Finals in November and lost both of his matches – against Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaur – at the recent United Cup. He is top seed in absence of Alcaraz.
Daniil Medvedev
The 26-year-old from Russia was unable to showcase the same performance as of the Melbourne final at the French or US Opens last year and never got a chance at Wimbledon after being banned due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
He did win two titles and was the world number one for 16 weeks.
But it was not the best year in the eyes of the 2021 US Open champion, who has slipped down to eight in the rankings and ended his season losing four-matches in a row.
He began the new year at the Adelaide International, where Djokovic beat him in the semi-finals.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
The number-four ranked burst onto the scene at the Australian Open in 2019 at the age of 20 and dethroned defending champion Federer in the last 16.
The Greek star went on to reach the semi-finals that year and again in 2021 and 2022, highlighting his consistency owing to which he has remained in the world’s top 10 for nearly four years.
Tsitsipas won the ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo last year along with another on the grass of Mallorca. But a Grand Slam crown remains elusive for the young Greek who was the runner-up at Roland Garros in 2021, in what has been his best major so far.
He started the new season on the Greek team at the United Cup and won all four matches including the scalps of Matteo Berrettini and Grigor Dimitrov.
Nick Kyrgios
Love him or hate him, Kyrgios is a showman and nowhere more so than on home turf in Melbourne.
While his frequent tantrums have long overshadowed his talent, the enigmatic Aussie had a stellar 2022, making a barnstorming run to a first Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon where he lost to Djokovic.
His build-up has been constrained by an ankle injury and he was never able to go past the Australian Open quarter-finals, but the unpredictable Kyrgios is an outside chance if he can remain calm under pressure.
– AFP/APP
