
The Australian Open marks the first of the four Grand Slams in tennis for 2023 and is held annually in Melbourne, Australia in mid to late January. The tournament was first played in 1905 and it is currently the highest-attended Grand Slam event with more than 812,000 people attending the game in 2020. There has been a drop-off in subsequent events, but it looks like 2023 is shaping up to be quite the series of games.
The best tennis players in the world have competed in the Australian Open with Rafael Nadal being the most recent winner in 2022 against Daniil Medvedev. Listed below are some of the favourites for the 2023 Australian Open for both men and women.
Rafael Nadal
Currently ranked number 2 in men’s singles around the world, Rafael Nadal has had quite an illustrious career since he turned pro in 2001. The Spaniard was previously ranked number 1 for 209 weeks and has won an all-time record of 22 Grand Slams. Rafael Nadal is considered one of the best tennis players to have ever graced the game. He also won the 2022 French Open, but due to injuries, he had to bow out of the Wimbledon and US Open Grand Slams. At 36 years old, he is technically at the twilight of his career but as the 2022 Australian Open has shown, he still has the skill and fitness to competently compete and even win in the 2023 tournament.
Carlos Alcaraz
At only 19 years old, Spanish Carlos Alcaraz is currently ranked as the number 1 singles tennis player in the world according to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), making him the youngest ever pro tennis player to hold that rank. At this point, the Australian Open odds are squarely towards Alcaraz, given his previous performance and the fact that he has much more to show going forward. Although he only made it to the third round in the 2022 Australian Open, he managed to defeat Norwegian Casper Ruud and win the US Open the same year. A big win in the first of the four Grand Slams in 2023 would be a nice way to start the year for Alcaraz, and it looks like the odds are in his favour.
Novak Djokovic
One of the all-time champions of the game, Serbian Novak Djokovic has won the Australian Open a record nine times and was ranked number one for a record 373 weeks. Although he is currently ranked number eight in the world, Djokovic still has what it takes to win the 2023 Australian Open. He is used to the courts and climate much better than anyone else and that gives him a decent edge when it comes to facing his rivals. He is one of the most successful tennis players of all time and a Nadal-Djokovic final would be a stunning event given their previous rivalry.
Iga Świątek
Currently ranked world number one by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Polish-born Iga Świątek has dominated the game in recent years. She won the French Open in 2020 and 2022 and the US Open in 2022 and sees no sign of stopping. Her next triumph is to win the 2023 Australian Open and at such a young age of 21 and with such impeccable skill, it would be hard to not see her complete her goals.
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