playing this year : neither Serena nor Venus Williams, for starters—Serena’s nursing a hamstring injury, while Venus’s disappointing 2021 season left her needing a wild-card entry; she opted to sit it out. That makes this year the first since 1997 without a Williams sister at the Australian Open.
Also not in Melbourne: last year’s runner-up Jennifer Brady ; 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem ; and, of course, Roger Federer, who’s recovering from multiple knee surgeries and isn’t expected to return to the tour until the middle of the year. A year or two ago, the absence of both Djokovic and Federer would have virtually assured Rafael Nadal a title. Not so now, when Nadal may very well have to get past Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals. And while there’s rarely a sure thing at a Grand Slam tournament, Daniil Medvedev is likely going to have to wear that target for the next two weeks: Assuming he gets past Nick Kyrgios in the second round, his path to the final seems relatively straightforward.
If there’s been a disappointment early in the tournament, it’s last year’s U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez losing in the first round to wild-card entry Maddison Inglis, ranked 133rd in the world.
Bottom line: How can you not root for Raducanu to storm the gates again? Smart money, though, is on either Barty or Osaka—who already takes the trophy for best comment to the press when asked about the Djokovic situation. “Is my opinion going to help anything?” she asked. “Yeah, I’ll kind of pass on that. Thanks, though.”Sign Up Now
Amazing legs, always fun to see ladies play well on the court 👏
Sadly it did more damage to Australia.
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