It seems like it was yesterday that we said goodbye to the season and in no time the first Grand Slam of the season begins. The 2024 Australian Open is now finalizing details to begin its next edition, with the news that the Australian tournament will have one more day of play.
The recent loss of Rafael Nadal affects the predictions of many fans, although there is no doubt that Novak Djokovic is the main candidate to win the trophy in Melbourne. He won’t have it easy at all. Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner or Daniil Medvedev will fight until the last moment in the fight for that great first trophy of the new season. On the female side there are many more unknowns. Iga Swiatek arrives as number one in the world to the tournament that Aryna Sabalenka won a year ago. The Polish player has never won in Melbourne, although the Belarusian will not be her only rival in this fight.
Names like Naomi Osaka impress at the 2024 Australian Open. The Japanese returns to the circuit after becoming a mother and is always dangerous on a court where she won the Grand Slam in 2019 and 2021. Others like Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and Ons Jabeur never cease to attract attention. Although we still do not have the main draw, from Punto de Break we analyze the main favorites in each side facing the first big title of the season.
Novak Djokovic, far above the rest
It is the place where the Serbian has achieved the most success with 10 Grand Slams already in his collection in Melbourne alone. Despite worrying to some extent with this wrist/forearm discomfort in his United Cup matches, Novak Djokovic remains the big favorite in the men’s draw with a certain difference compared to his closest rivals. Last year he only dropped one set on his way to the title and it was in the first round, so it is expected that Nole can go quite far with a good level of his tennis.
Who can stop the Serbian? Although at first not many names come to mind, it’s time to think about who can rival Novak for the trophy in Melbourne. One of the first that comes to mind is Carlos Alcaraz. The world number two will arrive in Australia without much experience, although he has already shown that he is capable of achieving great things without having this factor in his favor. The young man from Murcia played the Australian Open in 2022, the year in which he remained in the third round. The last edition he skipped it due to an injury that prevented him from competing, although now he arrives at the first Grand Slam of the season with hopes of signing a great tournament. That possible meeting would take place in the final, which makes the task even more complicated in a hypothetical case for Carlitos. His end to the season was not the best, but now he is starting a new year from scratch and in a tournament in which he has not played much, which can serve as extra motivation for Alcaraz.
Another of the candidates to fight with Novak Djokovic is Jannik Sinner. The Italian has gone from less to more in a year full of progress that ended with him as his country’s hero in the Davis Cup. In that same tournament he beat the Serbian twice, once in singles and another in doubles. That result is important, since Jannik saved up to three match points against and then came back in the series. In that game you could perfectly see that patience and maturity in his game in the most important moments. This is different with a five-set match. Jannik and Novak have met twice under these conditions, both victories for Djokovic at Wimbledon. The question remains as to what would happen on another surface and at a moment of spectacular form for the Italian.
Daniil Medvedev is perhaps the most experienced opponent to face the world number one. Novak rules head to head with a balance of 10-5. The Russian has beaten the Serbian in a hard court final at the US Open, although he has lost on both occasions in which he has faced the Serbian at the Australian Open. Another big name that stands out for his incredible form is Grigor Dimitrov, whose best record is the semifinals he made in 2017, although it seems that the years have not passed by his tennis. The Bulgarian won the Brisbane trophy with a victory against Holger Rune, so he is added to the list of players to pay close attention to.
Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek, a new battle
If this particular “Big 3” was already talked about last year, this season begins with a new episode of the rivalry. Iga Swiatek has started 2024 winning all her matches in the 2024 United Cup, but the Pole has not been particularly good on the Australian Open courts in past editions. Her best record is the semifinals in 2022, but her level has been quite irregular in Melbourne. Everything could change this year in which she has started in the best possible way, although perhaps there are other candidates who are more convincing before her debut.
The world number one decided to compete in the team competition while Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina met in the final of the WTA Brisbane 2024. In it, the Kazakh left an impressive display of her best tennis against the current Australian Open champion . Totally impeccable, Elena decisively defeated a somewhat lost Aryna on the track. Sabalenka will now have to make an important change when she arrives in Melbourne, also having that extra pressure to defend her title. Number one depended on her a few months ago and she ended up giving in, so this will be a litmus test for Aryna. Elena will also play with another factor. The Kazakh will not rest from tournaments the week before the Australian Open 2024, so she will have to be careful to reach 100% for the big event.
A step below these three players are other tennis players like Coco Gauff. The American becomes the fourth in contention, although in a role with certain doubts. Last September, the young American lifted her first Grand Slam at the US Open. This success could be taken as a knock on the table for someone who is here to stay or as someone who has had the best moment of her career. All this is in the hands of Coco, who has never made it past the quarterfinals in Melbourne. By surpassing that mark she would be left with positive feelings.
The main danger for the first four seeds appears in the round of 16 or in the quarterfinals with Jelena Ostapenko or Qinwen Zheng, or even further with players like Victoria Azarenka, winner in Australia in 2012 and 2013, or Elina Svitolina, who He has shown that he is in great shape with that final in Auckland against Gauff. There is still a week of preparation left and those feelings can change, although there is no doubt that Sabalenka and Rybakina are the favorites, followed by Swiatek and then Gauff.
2024-01-08 21:23:34
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