With or without Novak Djokovic, whose novel of entry into Australia has been dragging on for more than ten days and will still be decided in court, the Australian Open starts on Monday (17), Sunday night in Brazil. The first Grand Slam event in 2022 promises fierce competition in the men’s and women’s brackets.
The tournament returns to the month of January after being postponed to February in 2021, as a result of the pandemic. This time, with the requirement of vaccination, there was no quarantine imposed on the participants. But the increase in Covid-19 cases related to the omicron variant meant that the audience in the arenas was limited to 50%.
The first round will be played from 9 pm this Sunday (16), BrasÃlia time. ESPN channels will broadcast on cable TV, and all games will be available on Star+, Disney’s paid streaming platform.
In addition to the undefined case of Djokovic, there are other important absences confirmed. Roger Federer and Serena Williams, both 40 years old and recovering from injuries, will be absent. Brazilian doubles player Luisa Stefani, who had her ascent interrupted last year and needed surgery on her right knee, is also out.
Slam still brings together good stories and participants in search of great deeds. Here’s what to look out for:
Favorites in Djokovic’s absence
If the Serbian is removed from the bracket, favoritism will pass to Russian Daniil Medvedev, 25, and German Alexander Zverev, 24. In case of a title, they can still approach an unprecedented leadership of the ranking.
Second and third place, respectively, the two won three of the main trophies in dispute in the second half of last year. Zverev was an Olympic and ATP Finals champion, and Medvedev won his first Slam title by dominating Djokovic in the US Open final.
The record of the clashes is tied at 6 to 6. The Russian came from five consecutive victories, since 2020, until he was defeated by the German in the ATP Finals decision.
Zverev is still chasing his first Slam trophy, as is Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, 23, who is trying to get back into good shape from the first half of 2021 after a second half of the year marred by wear and tear and a right elbow injury.
Nadal puts recovery to the test and could set new record
Perhaps Djokovic can’t fight for the men’s record of 21 slam trophies, but Rafael Nadal, who also has 20 and is properly vaccinated, will have that opportunity.
After playing just one tournament in the second half, Nadal, 35, returned to the title court a week ago at the ATP 250 in Melbourne.
“Coming from where I came from, it’s very special. It’s a very positive start because I went through delicate moments, with many doubts if I could compete again”, he said.
The Spaniard’s 2021 season was marked by pain, the main one being a chronic foot injury that made him retire for longer treatment with the aim of prolonging his career. He also suffered a rare defeat at Roland Garros, to Djokovic, in the semifinals.
Nadal should arrive with a big appetite in Melbourne and cannot be ruled out, but the Australian tournament has always been the slam in which he struggled to triumph even on the best of days. It is the only one of the four big events to have won only once, in 2009. It also made finals in 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2019.
Another former world number one in the fight for new moments of glory on the circuit is Andy Murray, 34, who comes from runners-up in Sydney. Last year, the Briton missed the Australian Open after contracting Covid-19 shortly before the event.
Osaka returns in search of new trophies
With four Grand Slam titles in her career, two in Melbourne and two in New York, Naomi Osaka, 24, always arrives in Australia well-priced to win. That’s what she achieved last year, with a campaign in which she lost just one set and survived after saving two match points against Garbiñe Muguruza in the round of 16.
The remainder of his season was marked by emotions and turmoil. She was chosen to light the Olympic flame in Tokyo, but performed poorly on court at the home Games. He also guided important discussions by refusing to give press conferences at Roland Garros and revealing a picture of depression.
After being knocked out early at the US Open, she said she would need to take a break from her career and didn’t know when she would return to play. He returned to the court in a preparatory tournament in Melbourne a week ago and won three matches, but withdrew before the semi-finals to physically preserve himself after suffering an abdominal injury.
To triumph for the third time in the Australian Slam, it will really be necessary to be well, as the Japanese woman fell into a complicated bracket. He could face Swiss Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, in the third round, and world number 1, Australian Ashleigh Barty, in a much-anticipated round of 16 match.
There is curiosity about the performance of British Emma Raducanu, 19, surprising winner of the last US Open after leaving the qualifiers, which until now has not returned to show the tennis that consecrated her.
Bia Haddad back to a Grand Slam
After a season of considerable evolution in 2021, Bia Haddad Maia, 25, has returned to the top 100 of the women’s singles rankings and will be back in the main draw of a Slam for the first time since Wimbledon-2019.
The São Paulo woman served a doping suspension after that and had to climb all the way up the rankings again.
In October, he achieved the most expressive victory of his career, beating the Czech Karolina Pliskova, then number 3. “Today I feel more prepared, I have a much better physique. I feel more alive and aware on the court”, she told the leaf In this ocasion.
This Saturday, she won the WTA 500 in Sydney in doubles, with Kazakh Anna Danilina.
Number 88 in the singles ranking, Bia will face American Katie Volynets (178th), coming from the qualifiers, in her debut. If they pass, they could face in the second round the Romanian Simona Halep, who started the year with her first title since September 2020 and is well-placed to return to a long campaign in a Slam.
The other representative of Brazil in the singles bracket is Thiago Monteiro, 27. The Ceara native, 83rd in the ranking, will face a tough first match against Frenchman Benoit Paire, 47th.
In the doubles, the country will have Marcelo Melo with Croatian Ivan Dodig, Bruno Soares alongside Briton Jamie Murray and the 100% national partnership of Felipe Meligeni and Rafael Matos, who will make his debut in a Slam.
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