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Can anyone stop Djokovic and break through for their first slam?
Gabe F
Roar Rookie
21st January, 2023
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Gabe F
Roar Rookie
21st January, 2023
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Who are the favourites for this year’s Australian Open?

This year’s edition promises to be an all-time classic. With Novak Djokovic coming back from a controversial vaccine saga, and Stefanos Tsitsipas vying to win his first grand slam, plus many other up-and-coming players trying to make a big impact, we all need to be ready for another big five-set-match at the end of January.

I’m going to do my very best to try to tip who will raise the trophy at Rod Laver Arena, and who will be next to them holding back tears.

The first person we need to consider is Tsitsipas. He is now the most likely to win, as Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud were both eliminated in the second round. Contrary to an earlier article of mine, I do believe Tsitsipas can win this year, with his one-two punch of a massive serve and impressive groundstrokes making him a formidable opponent.

He certainly is a good chance of winning this, but don’t count out Jannik Sinner, who plays him tonight. He is an extremely talented player, and may easily come out on top.

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The second player who has a good chance of winning is Novak Djokovic. Although a hamstring injury had him sidelined in his win over Frenchman Enzo Couacoud, the big Serb still possesses so much class in his game, that you can’t possibly count him out.

Expect his chances to be further bolstered at the demise of Daniil Medvedev, who lost in straight sets to Sebastian Korda. This comes as another shock loss this tournament, Daniil looked almost unbeatable coming into this tournament. He racked up nine aces against the American, but somehow lost in a set tiebreak.

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This shows how vulnerable some of the best players in this tournament are, so perhaps Djokovic might not get his dream of a 22nd grand slam win in this tournament.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 08: Novak Djokovic of Serbia competes against Sebastian Korda of the USA during day eight of the 2023 Adelaide International at Memorial Drive on January 08, 2023 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)

(Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)

Then we have to consider the likes of the not-so-well-known players. Félix Auger-Aliassime, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov are all fantastic players. But when talking about household names in tennis, these guys don’t really come up all that much.

This could be the one for Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz. He has been such a good player for over a year now, that the No.10 seeding doesn’t really do him justice. He will be a major contender this tournament, he got over the line against Denis Shapovalov of Canada, a notorious giant-killer in Australia, and Lorenzo Sonego.

Both matches ended in five sets, which shows Hurkacz’s great endurance and mental strength, although he will certainly want a quicker match when he comes up against previously mentioned Sebastian Korda. That will be one to watch.

Ultimately, I have to go with my head instead of my heart, and tip Tsitsipas. As much as I want a local player to triumph, Tsitsipas has the quality and finesse of a prime Andy Murray. With serving machine (not so much second serving) Alex Zverev bowing out to Michael Mmoh, and Casper Ruud losing to Jenson Brooksby in four sets, he would feel this is his time.

But anything could still happen, I’m not yet ruling out Djokovic or any other player. We will have to wait and see.

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