Another tennis season is upon us and so is another edition of the Australian Open – here are the top male contenders for the 2023 edition
Players are slowly getting back to work mode after enjoying the off-season. With less than a month remaining for the Australian Open, let’s take a look at some of the players who will be the frontrunners to go the distance at the prestigious tournament.
5. Alexander Zverev
2022 turned out to be a sorrowful year for the talented German player. Alexander Zverev ended 2021 on a great note as he defeated Daniil Medvedev to win the ATP Finals. He played in the ATP Cup when the new season began and registered wins against Cameron Norrie and Taylor Fritz.
At the Australian Open, Zverev defeated fellow countryman Daniel Altmaier in straight sets in the first round. The third-seeded Zverev followed it up with another comprehensive victory against John Millman in the second round 6-4, 6-4, 6-0. Zverev produced another clinical display against Radu Albot in the third round and won the match 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. His run ended in the fourth round against 14th seed Denis Shapovalov. This wasn’t his best result at the Australian Open. In the 2020 edition, he made it to the semifinals.
Zverev went on to finish runner-up at the Open Sud de France and the Madrid Open. At the French Open, Zverev made it to the semis and was playing some scintillating tennis against the mighty Rafael Nadal. However, he suffered a terrible injury during the second set. It was later revealed that he had torn all three lateral ligaments on his right ankle and would miss the remaining season. Zverev returned at the Diriyah Tennis Cup earlier this month and started with a win against Dominic Thiem. He produced a huge result at the World Tennis League when he got the better of an in-form Novak Djokovic. Zverev will certainly be a player to look out for at the Australian Open.
4. Daniil Medvedev
The Russian star was a whisker away from winning back-to-back Grand Slam titles. After winning the 2021 US Open, Medvedev started as one of the favorites to win the 2022 Australian Open. He played great tennis en route to the finals at the tournament. In the final, he faced former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal. Medvedev got off to a great start as he won the first couple of sets. However, the Spanish veteran showed his class thereafter and eventually won the match 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
The current world No. 7 added two titles to his trophy cabinet in 2022. The first of those came at the Los Cabos Open where he ousted Cameron Norrie while he won another title at the Vienna Open after beating Denis Shapovalov from a set down.
The 26-year-old did not have a great end to the season. He finished with a 4-match losing streak. After crashing out of the Paris Masters in the round of 32, he lost all three of his group matches at the ATP Finals. Medvedev, however, will be a strong contender at the Australian Open as he is lethal on hardcourts and will take confidence from his stunning performance in the previous edition.
3. Carlos Alcaraz
The wonder kid of tennis is undoubtedly one of the contenders after having a phenomenal season in 2022. The youngster won five titles during the year – the Rio Open, the Miami Open, the Barcelona Open, the Madrid Open, and of course the US Open.
At the Australian Open in 2022, Alcaraz defeated his opponents Alejandro Tabilo and Dusan Lajovic in straight sets in the first couple of rounds. However, in the third round, he lost to seventh seed Matteo Berrettini after coming back from a two-set deficit and taking the match to the final set.
A lot has changed for Alcaraz between then and now. He is a more complete player now and has shown his ability to hang with stalwarts of the game. With his triumph at the US Open, Alcaraz became the youngest men’s world No. 1 at the age of just 19 years, 4 months and 6 days.
2. Rafael Nadal
Hard to bet against the defending champion. Rafael Nadal won his second Australian Open title at this year’s edition of the tournament. His comeback in the final from two sets down will be in the memories of tennis fans for a very long time.
Nadal began 2022 on a great note as he won three tournaments on the trot. The first one was in Melbourne where he defeated Maxime Cressy in the final. After the Australian Open, Nadal won the title in Acapulco defeating Cameron Norrie in the final. The southpaw won his fourth title of the year at the French Open. His campaign in the clay-court major included a win against Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Nadal got the better of Casper Ruud to win a record-extending 14th French Open title.
Nadal has been troubled by injuries as of late. If he can stay healthy, there is no reason why he can’t repeat his heroics from last season.
1. Novak Djokovic
The Serbian legend couldn’t play too many tournaments this year. His unvaccinated status against COVID-19 was the reason why many countries/tournament organizers didn’t allow him to compete. However, in just the 11 tournaments he played in 2022, Djokovic managed to win 5 titles.
The former world No. 1 was deported after arriving to play in 2022 Australian Open owing to his unvaccinated status. He was served a three-year visa ban but it has recently been overturned and we will see the legendary player at this year’s tournament.
Djokovic finished the year on a great note. After winning his 21st Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, Djokovic won the Tel Aviv Open and Astana Open in October. He finished the season by winning a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title. Among all Grand Slam events, Djokovic has been most successful at the Australian Open. He has won the title on 9 occasions and thrice in the last four editions. If he can continue in the same form he was in in the last season, he might just run away with the Australian Open title.
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