The Spanish Rafael Nadal and the Serbian Novak Djokovic, the two active legends of the professional tennis circuit, will be the central protagonists of the Australian Open that will begin this Sunday at Melbourne Park, with the participation of nine Argentines in the individual competition.
Nadal, 36, will defend the title of the first Grand Slam of the year with the Serb as the main threat on his return to the oceanic country after last year’s scandal over his refusal to apply the Covid-19 vaccine. Djokovic, top champion of the Aus Open with 9 crowns, was detained in Melbourne and was finally deported hours before the start of the 2022 edition after a lag with local authorities that went around the world.
With the three-year entry ban applied at that time suspended, the former world number one returns to Australia with a clear objective: to add his tenth conquest and equal the record of 22 Grand Slam titles held by the Spaniard. The two colossi of the ATP will meet in a hypothetical final if they successfully go through the different phases of a team that will not have the best tennis player of the moment, the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, due to injury.
“If we talk about favourites, on the Saturday before the tournament begins, without a doubt, Djokovic is the top favorite to win the title. But tournaments are not won on the Saturday before,” said Nadal, who settled in Melbourne a year ago as the top Grand Slam winner above Djokovic and the Swiss Roger Federer.
Nadal, who lost the two games played this year for the United Cup, will debut in the early hours of Monday morning in Argentina, not before 2:30, against the British Jack Draper, 21, number 40 in the ranking, who will have his debut absolute in the Australian major. Djokovic will take the field on the second day against the Spanish Roberto Carballes Baena (75th), who could never get past the second round in any of the 19 Grand Slams played.
The Australian Open will have eight Argentines in the men’s singles draw and only Nadia Podoroska among the women. The Rosario (192nd), paired with the French Leolia Jeanjean, will face her second presence in the tournament from which she said goodbye in R2 in 2021.
The legion of “albiceleste” men will be made up of Diego Schwartzman, Francisco Cerúndolo, Sebastián Báez, Federico Coria, Tomás Etcheverry, Guido Pella, Facundo Bagnis and Pedro Cachín.