With the commencement of the new tennis season, all the Top 50 ATP and WTA players have confirmed their appearance at the first Grand Slam event of the year, the Australian Open.
The Australian Open will feature the world’s best players in an epic showdown to win the first Grand Slam of the year, with the exception of Victoria Azarenka who has opted out of the tournament citing personal problems. However, her team has assured that she will return on tour after the Australian Open.
The tournament which begins on January 20 next year will feature Top-ranked players Ashleigh Barty and Rafael Nadal fight to win the title. Nadal has made it to the Australian Open finals five times, successfully winning once.
Also Read:
The tournament will feature an incredible mix of the Grand Slam champions and the NextGen stars with Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Stitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev.
Juan del Potro, ranked at world no.5 at the beginning of the season, will return to tennis with a protected ranking of 22 after being absent from tournaments due to an injury-marred season. Having last played at the Queen’s Club Championships, del Porto will return six months.
Naomi Osaka will defend her title against US Open champion Bianca Andreescu and seven-time champion Serena Williams who has lost four Grand Slam finals consecutively and will hope to take home the title for the eight-time. Osaka has added a new member to her coaching team, Win Fisette, to cement her preparations ahead of the tournament.
In the men’s category, Djokovic will defend his title in the hopes of securing an eight with Federer aiming for his seventh title at the Australian Open.
In its 115th year, the tournament is sure to be a memorable one for tennis enthusiasts as they will also witness former world no.1 Caroline Wozniacki’s last tournament before she retires. Wozniacki won her only Grand Slam at the Australian Open in 2018 and will hope to round off her career with another spectacular win here.
Be the first to comment