It was not the worst possible result, since the three big favorites for the title in the Australian Openfirst Grand Slam of the season, could have fallen on the same side of the draw, but finally Carlos Alcaraz will have to overcome a tough road to reach the final of the tournament. On his horizon, specifically in a hypothetical quarterfinal, nothing less than Novak Djokovic awaits, who is starting the year strong to try to forget a very disappointing 2024 for him.
The Serbian, current number seven in the ATP, will not be the only bone for the Murcian if he wants to lift the trophy in Melbourne, because if he reaches the semifinals he would have to cross his racket with that of the German Alexander Zverev, number two in the world. The positive news that the draw left for Carlos Alcaraz is that he would not have to face the world number one, the Italian Jannik Sinner, until the final set for Sunday, January 26.
The first obstacle for the Spanish tennis player will be Alexander Shevchenko, number 72 in the ATP. In the only precedent with the Kazakh, in the last Mutua Madrid Open, the victory went to Alcaraz in two sets, 6-2 and 6-1. If he repeats his victory, the Murcian’s next rivals could be Jordan Thomson, Sebastian Korda, Jack Draper or Grigor Dimitrov.
To overcome those first challenges Alcaraz he would meet Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinalswho is seeking his eleventh Australian Open and twenty-fifth Grand Slam of his career in Melbourne. The Serbian will face young American Nisheh Basavareddy, invited by the organization, in his debut.
Carlos Alcaraz, current world number 3, has been in Melbourne since the beginning of the week preparing his assault on the Australian Open. Since then he has alternated individual training with friendly games with colleagues like Fritz, De Miñaur or even Djokovic himself.
On the other side of the picture Jannik Sinnerthe last champion of the tournament after beating the Russian Daniil Medvedev in the 2024 final, will begin his title defense against the Chilean Nicolás Jarry.
The Italian starts as a great favorite after the titles won last year, in which he added the Australian Open, the United States Open and the ATP Finals, which took him to the top of the world rankings. The biggest obstacles on his way may be the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals or Medvedev himself in the semifinals.
However, the shadow of his positive anti-doping test still weighs on his figure, of which he was acquitted by the International Tennis Integrity Agency, as the appeal presented by the World Anti-Doping Agency is still pending.
For his part, Zverev, world number two, was paired in the first round with French guest Lucas Pouille.
Badosa, against the Chinese Wang Xinyu
In the draw for the women’s draw, the world number one and winner of the last two Australian Grand Slams, Aryna Sabalenkawill begin the defense of the title against a US Open champion like Sloane Stephens.
As if that weren’t enough bad luck, the Belarusian will have the American on the same side of the draw Coco Gauffworld number 3, who will face her compatriot Sofia Kenin, winner in Australia in 2020, in the first round.
The second best player in the world according to the WTA classification, Iga Swiatekwill have a more affordable first match against the Czech doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova, but on her way to a possible final she may run into the Kazakh Elena Rybakina (number 6) and the Italian Jasmine Paolini (4).
For its part, the Spanish Paula Badosacurrently outside the top-10 of the WTA (12), was tied with the Chinese Wang Xinyu (37).
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