Despite his historic success in Melbourne, top seed Novak Djokovic's pursuit of an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title and 11th at the Australian Open is expected to be anything but easy.
Potential challengers looming include Andy Murray in the third round, No. 16 seed Ben Shelton in the fourth round, No. 7 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinal—a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open final—and then, to top it all off, No. 4 seed Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.
Djokovic should be able to push his way through Murray, Shelton, and Tstisipas, but it is Sinner who can pose the problem.
While the 24-time grand slam champion does hold the edge over Sinner 2-0 in Grand Slam matches and has come back down two sets to the Italian, he's lost two of his last three matches against Sinner, who enters with warranted confidence and momentum after beginning the year as the world No. 4, a career-best ranking.
Sinner has elevated his game to a point that has troubled Djokovic in recent months and will likely do so again.
In the bottom half of the draw, Carlos Alcaraz, the No. 2 seed, is the headliner.
However, the Spaniard faces a tricky test in possible matchups with No. 14 seed Tommy Paul and No. 6 seed Alexander Zverev before even reaching the semifinal, where he could take on No. 3 seed and hard-court specialist Daniil Medvedev.
While there's no denying Alcaraz's brilliance on the court, he endured struggles on hard-court surfraces towards the end of 2023, where he has looked beatable.
This half of the draw favors Daniil Medvedev, who, though stunningly upset by Sebastian Korda in the third round of the 2023 Australian Open, had reached the final the previous two years and favors these court conditions.
Prediction: Medvedev over Sinner in the final
"complete" - Google News
January 14, 2024 at 12:03AM
https://ift.tt/D8retcF
Australian Open 2024: Complete Predictions for Men's and Women's Draw - Bleacher Report
"complete" - Google News
https://ift.tt/b9MrtOy
https://ift.tt/NWMjGcK
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Australian Open 2024: Complete Predictions for Men's and Women's Draw - Bleacher Report"
Post a Comment