Almost all of the top tennis players have come to Australia to compete for the first TBS of the year. The only exception was Rafael Nadal, who returned to the ATP Tour in Brisbane, but ultimately withdrew from the Australian Open due to another injury.
Former Australian Open champions Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki are ready to return after a long break, and the Japanese even managed to be knocked out by Caroline Wozniacki in the first round. Who remains and is the favorite on Australian TBS?
Daniel Medvedev
It’s been a while since Medvedev won his first and so far only Grand Slam title at the 2021 US Open. He came close to winning the 2022 Australian Open, but Nadal’s return to the final l left stunned.
Medvedev also took time to recover from this defeat. He had significant success last year, including another second place at the US Open. The Russian is currently one of the best players on hard court and has the potential to reach the final in Melbourne.
Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz followed up his victory at the 2022 US Open with a title at Wimbledon last year. He is also the only player other than Djokovic and Nadal to win a Grand Slam title in the last two years.
As Alcaraz has never progressed past the third round of the Australian Open, this tournament’s results are not up to his high standards. Last year he did not play in Melbourne and this season he is ready to improve his statistics at the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic
Djokovic is the hot favorite to win the men’s singles title at the Australian Open, although the Serbian is recovering from an injury he suffered at the United Cup.
The Serbian has won a record 10 titles in Melbourne and loves playing on Australian courts. His defeat to Alex de Minaur in the United Cup ended his 43-match winning streak in Australia. The last time the Serbian lost to Hyun Chong was at the 2018 Australian Open. Novak is now aiming for his 25th Grand Slam title.
Iga Swiatek
Swiatek has dominated the WTA Tour for the past two seasons. She has four TBS titles to her credit since 2020.
Iga is also currently on a 16 match winning streak. She won the China Open and the WTA Finals to close out 2023 on a strong note. Swiatek started the new season by winning all of her singles matches at the United Cup, although her team still lost to Germany 1-2 in the final.
Arina Sabalenko
Over the past year, Sabalenka has established herself as a force to be reckoned with at Grand Slam tournaments. Last season, she became the first woman since 2016 to reach at least the semifinals of all TBS in a single season. The last person to do this was the legendary Serena Williams.
Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam singles title last year at the Australian Open. Her unbeaten run in the country ended last week at the Brisbane International, where she lost to Elena Rybakina in the final.
Sabalenka is no longer a rookie, but sometimes she still can’t handle the pressure in key moments. Last year, the Belarusian played the match of her life to lift the trophy in Melbourne and she will need to do the same if she wants to repeat the feat this year.
Coco Gauff
Gauff still faces high expectations after her sensational performance at Wimbledon 2019 when she was just 15 years old. Although she did quite well over the next two years, she failed to win the TBS.
Gauff reached her first TBS final at Roland Garros 2022, but lost to Iga Swiatek. After being eliminated in the first round of Wimbledon 2023, Gauff seemed to have reached her developmental ceiling, but this failure ultimately became a new turning point in the American’s career.
A few months later, she won the US Open. Gauff is now also a contender to win the Australian Open. She has already made a strong start to 2024 with a successful defense of her title in Auckland and will look to continue this momentum.
Elena Rybakina
Rybakina lost to Sabalenka in the final of last year’s Australian Open and then did not appear in the TBS main matches in 2023. Although she won prestigious tournaments in Rome and Indian Wells, she also participated in the final in Miami.
She didn’t drop a set en route to the title in Brisbane at the start of the new season. Rybakina defeated Sabalenka in the final with a score of 6-0, 6-3. She brilliantly read her opponent’s serve and dictated the game from start to finish. The conditions in Melbourne favor his tennis. Rybakina also obtains rather decent results against most of its direct competitors. Having failed to win in Melbourne last time, Rybakina could well win the title this year.
Source: Sport
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
