Many fans of the yellow ball will say: “Finally!” Even if the world tennis elite has resumed its activities for a few days: the first stage of the Grand Slam of the season begins on Saturday evening (Eastern Time), and some players will be the Australian Want to use the Open to compensate for an unsatisfactory situation in 2023 or continue with the momentum gained in recent months.
Obviously, the long distance from Melbourne will not help tennis fans here who want to closely follow the progress of Félix Auger-Aliassime, Leylah Annie Fernandez and the other players from Canada, as well as the exploits of the world's best. However, some fans are certainly curious about the outcome of the event where Spaniard Rafael Nadal retired.
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Here are some facts worth knowing about the country's athletes, as well as the main favorites who will try to collect valuable points in the individual standings and perhaps lift the Norman Brookes (men) and Daphne Akhurst (women) trophies on Center Court at the Rod Laver Arena end January.
Canadian players
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– Félix Auger-Aliassime
The 27th seeded player would like to forget a rather unsatisfactory last season. However, his stay in Oceania got off to a bad start as he lost his first game in Auckland to Germany's Daniel Altmaier on Tuesday. In Melbourne, Auger-Aliassime hopes to do as well as he did in 2022, when he reached the quarter-finals. He played at least in the fourth round in his last three tournament appearances. Only this time there is a big obstacle standing in his way from the start: the Austrian Dominic Thiem, former ATP number 3. If he reaches the third round, he could find the current third player, the Russian Daniil Medvedev.
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-Leylah Annie Fernandez
Ranked 36th in the WTA, the Quebecer can build on the positives, particularly her perfect performance at the Billie Jean King Cup, which Canada won in November. Fernandez, who became Hong Kong champion last month, will have a relatively easy start on paper as she will initially face a competitor from the qualifiers, Czech Sara Bejlek. After having little success in Melbourne, she risks facing American Coco Gauff, fourth in the world, in Round 3. Then it could be Naomi Osaka or Caroline Garcia in the next round.
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-Milos Raonic
Annoyed by the injuries of the last few years, the strong server persists and signals: There is no question of retiring now. However, the climb back is steep: he is in 317th place and used his protected position to sneak into the peloton. And in Australia he will face a strong opponent in the first round: Alex de Minaur, 10th in the world, who has a right to the support of his audience. Raonic reached the semi-finals in 2016 but that is now a distant memory. Is this the 33-year-old veteran's last appearance at this tournament?
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-Denis Shapovalov
Here's another athlete from the country who has a lot of catching up to do, although the knee injury he sustained at Wimbledon last year explains many of his problems. Like Raonic, Shapovalov holds a spot due to his protected ranking, having fallen to No. 116 in the ATP rankings. The Ontario native, defeated by Denmark's Sebastian Ofner on his return in Auckland, is entitled to a game against the first-place finisher (Czech Jakub Mensik), but Poland's Hubert Hurkacz is on the horizon in the next round. Two years ago he reached the quarterfinals.
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-Rebecca Marino
The British Columbian can congratulate herself on achieving her first goal by winning her three qualifying matches, including the one against compatriot Katherine Sebov, who withdrew after two games. However, the celebration is likely to be short-lived, as Marino will face the fifth favorite, the American Jessica Pegula, in the first round. The latter played the quarter-finals in Melbourne in the last three presentations.
Favorites
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-Novak Djokovic
The world's best player recently dealt with a right wrist injury at the United Cup but should not be immediately ruled unfit to win his 25th career Grand Slam tournament. The “Djoker”, holder of 10 titles in Australia, has also overcome some physical problems to win everything in 2021 and 2023. The 36-year-old Serb is at the top of the table and wants to stay at the top of the rankings. The pressure is on because he has 2000 points to defend. Things should be easy for him before the round of 16, where he could face the American Ben Shelton. A shock against Italian Jannik Sinner, who beat him twice in 2023, could take place in the Final Four.
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-Carlos Alcaraz
At second, the Spaniard has a good game against Djokovic as he has no points to defend due to his absence in Australia last year, which will help him make up some ground on his rival. At the bottom of the table, Alcaraz had no right to a completely easy draw. His first obstacle is Richard Gasquet, who is no longer in the world's top 100 after 956 consecutive weeks. If the 20-year-old passes the test, he may meet Brit Daniel Evans. His opponent in the quarter could be the German Alexander Zverev, before a possible duel with Medvedev in the semi-finals.
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-Iga Swiatek
It won't be easy for the WTA's first racquet, as the winner of the 2020 competition, Sofia Kenin, awaits her in the opening round on Sunday. Then the German Angelique Kerber, who has returned from maternity leave, threatens him. Otherwise, her opponent will be 2022 finalist Danielle Collins. Winner of her last 16 singles matches (including the United Cup), the Pole is aiming for the fifth major title of her life and the first in Australia.
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-Aryna Sabalenka
As reigning champion, the Belarusian is on a clearer path to begin with, with a qualifier (Belgium's Ella Seidel) as her first-round opponent and Romania's Ana Bogdan as a potential second-round opponent. Sabalenka is in the same half of the table as Japan's Naomi Osaka, also back after experiencing the joys of motherhood, Greece's Maria Sakkari, Gauff and Fernandez.