As if Novak Djokovic’s shock loss to Denis Istomin earlier this week wasn’t enough, the Australian Open men’s singles draw has now lost its No.1 seed, with Andy Murray bundled out in four sets by world No.50 Mischa Zverev.
It’s an especially heartbreaking loss for Murray who, with Djokovic out of the picture, looked a huge chance to claim his first ever Australian Open title.
The Scot has made the final of the tournament in Melbourne on five occasions, but has never once been able to go all the way.
It’s the first time since 2004 that neither of the top two seeds have reached the quarter-finals at a grand slam, and will be only the third time in the last ten years that we’ve had an Australian Open final without Djokovic or Murray present.
He’ll have to wait another year for another chance, but there’s bigger business to get to. Now we ask ourselves, with the world’s top two players out of the picture, who becomes the favourite?
There are just three men left in the field now who have previously won grand slam titles, and all of them have at least one win in Melbourne – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka.
Federer and Nadal obviously are two of the biggest names in the sport and have enjoyed one of modern-day tennis’ greatest rivalries over the course of their careers.
However, both have been some time now without winning a grand slam, many doubting their ability to ever do so again – and battles with injury have not helped.
Federer is a four-time Australian Open winner, most recently in 2010, but hasn’t won a grand slam of any kind since Wimbledon 2012.
For Nadal the Australian Open has been his least-happy hunting ground, winning only once, in 2009. His most recent triumph at was the 2014 French Open.
A tournament with no Djokovic or Murray to stand in their way might be the last chance for both 35-year-old Federer and 30-year-old Nadal to taste grand slam success one more time.
In a delightful twist of fate, the fixture is perfectly lined up for Roger and Rafa to meet in what would be a rivalry-defining final if all goes well for them between now and then.
Wawrinka on the other hand has won three grand slams over the last three years, including here in Australia in 2014. He’s had greater consistency in recent times than Federer or Nadal, and probably takes the No.1 contender title now that Murray is gone.
Of course the other possibility in the mix is that we could find a winner from outside those five names so familiar, and it would be the first time since Marat Safin’s 2005 triumph that the Australian Open did not belog to Federer, Nadal, Djokovic or Wawrinka.
Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori have spent many years biding their time and waiting for a chance at a maiden grand slam win. Both have been through the experience of losing a final, often a vital step on the road to a win.
Or perhaps a younger, lower-ranked star like Grigor Dimitrov or Dominic Thiem is ready to stand up and do something amazing. Neither has made it further than the semi-finals before, but the opportunity is now there for the taking.
Whatever happens from here, one thing is certain – with the top two seeds flying home before the quarter-finals, this Australian Open has become very interesting.
Betting favourites – Australian Open 2017 men’s singles
Stan Wawrinka $3.60
Milos Raonic $4
Roger Federer $4.33
Rafael Nadal $6
Grigor Dimitrov $7
Kei Nishikori $10
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