SUMMARY
- The 2024 Australian Open is scheduled to start on 14th January.
- Novak Djokovic will be keen for a landmark victory at Melbourne.
The 2024 tennis season has already seen over 11 events played in 14 days so far. The year’s first grand slam will begin on January 14th. Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka have completed their warmup events. Djokovic was seen playing at the United Cup, while Sabalenka competed at the Brisbane Internationals.
There will be multiple grand slam champions competing at this year’s Australian Open. Djokovic will be the favorite to take a record-breaking 11th title in Australia. Since 2005, he has only missed playing at the event in 2022 due to the vaccine policy. Djokovic has an 89-8 record in 18 Australian Open appearances. He is seven matches away from becoming the first player ever to win 25 Grand Slam titles.
Return of the king 👑 👋 Welcome back to our 10x champion! @DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/9KagVg9R4t
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 9, 2024
The Serbian has been undefeated in his past four outings in Australia. The last time he was defeated at the Australian Open was in 2018 in the fourth round against Hyeon Chung. Last season saw Djokovic drop a single set on his way to lifting the trophy. It is his turf in Australia, and there have been reports about a stadium being renamed after him in Australia to celebrate his legacy at the tournament.
Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz is coming back to the Australian Open after a year. He was forced to miss the previous edition due to a hamstring injury in his right leg. It will be the third time that Alcaraz plays in Australia, and he has not gone beyond the third round so far. The Spaniard will be eager to improve his record at the event. It remains the only grand slam where Alcaraz has yet to reach at least the semifinals.
☀️🎾🇦🇺💪🏻 @AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/ANXxUrug7C
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) January 9, 2024
The world No. 2 needs to perform well to take back the top spot in the rankings from Djokovic. Alcaraz is seeking a third grand slam title after his victories at Wimbledon last year and the US Open two years ago. He has yet to open his account book this season and last played at the Nitto ATP Finals in November. Alcaraz is a strong contender and can manage to stop Djokovic from recreating benchmarks.
Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek started the 2024 season with a bagel in her opening match at the United Cup. She is currently on a 16-match winning streak, which started in October last year at the China Open. Swiatek’s best performance at the Australian Open came in 2022, where she reached the semifinals and lost to Danielle Collins. The world No. 1 lost in the fourth round last year to Elena Ryabkina.
Few more days to go, @iga_swiatek ❣️#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/vM9pnZktqU
— TRAVEL&Sp🎾rts (@travel__Sports) January 10, 2024
It will be Swiatek’s 20th appearance at a grand slam event. She is two wins away from completing 70 grand slam victories. The 22-year-old will be aiming to win her fifth major title. Swiatek has three French Open trophies and one US Open trophy in her collection so far. She will face tough competition from Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Rybakina.
Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka is back on the WTA tour after taking a maternity break. She was not featured in the main draw of the last four grand slams. Osaka has played two matches this season so far and won one of them. The former world No. 1 is on the hunt for a fifth grand slam title. Osaka had captured the Australian Open title in 2019 and 2021. Apart from the wins in Australia, she won the US Open in 2018 and 2020.
Naomi Osaka is more than ready for the Australian Open 🎾
Witness the 2-time Grand Slam champion return post-motherhood, starting 14th January – LIVE on #SonyLIV 🍿 #AusOpen #GreatnessStartsHere pic.twitter.com/XPg5eBQkk1
— Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) January 8, 2024
The Japanese player is the only one in the women’s draw who has multiple crowns at the event. Osaka is currently ranked No. 833 and will be playing a lot of matches this season. The 26-year-old will be careful not to exert too much strain on her body in the upcoming days in Melbourne. Osaka’s return will be one of the most anticipated ones at the 112th edition of the Australian Open.
Andy Murray
Andy Murray will be one of the experienced players at the 2024 Australian Open. It will be his 16th appearance at the event. He had lifted the Wimbledon title in 2013 and 2016. Murray’s first grand slam title came at the US Open in 2012. It has been eight years since his last grand slam title. Murray was ousted in the third round in Australia last year.
Stan Wawrinka
Stan Wawrinka first played at the Australian Open in 2006. He has played in every edition since then except in 2022. It will be his 18th outing at Melbourne. Wawrinka won his first grand slam title in Australia in 2014. He went on to win the French Open and US Open in successive seasons. The 38-year-old lost in the opening round in a four-and-a-half-hour battle last year at Melbourne.
Marin Cilic
Marin Cilic had missed all the grand slams in the 2023 season due to a knee injury. He is currently ranked No.672 and will play his opening match against Fabian Marozsan. It has been a decade since Cilic won his only grand slam title at the US Open. The last time he played at the Australian Open in 2022, Cilic reached the fourth round.
Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem was hailed as the next big star in the sport a few years ago. But injuries have slowed down his movement and his one-handed backhand. It will be Thiem’s 10th appearance at the Australian Open and had reached the final in 2020. The same year, Thiem captured the US Open title. The Austrian will be hopeful of avoiding a first-round defeat like last year.
Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev had a hectic 2023 season after playing 84 matches and winning 66 of them. He has yet to play a match this year and will play against a qualifier in the opening round. Medvedev won his first grand slam title at the 2021 US Open. He has been a finalist at the Australian Open twice. In the 2023 edition, Medvedev was beaten in the third round.
Sofia Kenin
Sofia Kenin is seeking her first win since 2019 at the Australian Open. She has suffered straight-set losses in her past two appearances in Australia. Kenin had won the title in Melbourne four years ago but has been unable to produce similar results lately. She is currently on a four-match losing streak.
Angelique Kerber
Angelique Kerber has returned to the WTA tour after a year and a half. She was on maternity leave and played a few matches at the United Cup. Kerber won her first grand slam title in Australia in 2016 and went on to clinch the US Open the same year. In 2018, she won the Wimbledon title and has been searching for a fourth title ever since.
Jelena Ostapenko
Jelena Ostapenko had a successful outing at the Grand Slams last season. She reached the quarterfinals at the Australian and US Open for the first time. Ostapenko tasted her only grand slam title in 2017 at the French Open. It will be her ninth appearance in Melbourne and will hope to fare better than last year.
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka made her debut at the Grand Slams at the age of 16 in the Australian Open. Both her grand slam titles have come at Melbourne. Azarenka is three wins away from 50 victories at the Australian Open. Last year, she reached the semifinals, and this year, she will play the opening match against Camila Giorgi.
Marketa Vondrousova
Marketa Vondrousova had a memorable on-tour last season. She won her first grand slam title at Wimbledon and ended the year with a career-best quarterfinal finish at the US Open. Vondrousova has played two matches at the United Cup and won one of them. She had lost in the third round last year in Australia. Vondrousova will face qualifier Dayana Yastremska in the opening round this time.
Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina has started this season with a five-match winning streak. She did not drop a single set on her way to win the title at Adelaide. Rybakina reached the final last year in Australia. She had won her first grand slam title at Wimbledon in 2022. Rybakina will play her first-round match against Karolina Pliskova.
Sloane Stephens
Sloane Stephens has not had a two-match winning streak since August last season. She lost in the third round at Brisbane and reached the quarterfinals in doubles. Stephens will be keen to snap her four-match losing streak at the Australian Open. She will face wildcard entry Olivia Gadecki in the opening round.
Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu was earlier scheduled to play the qualifiers at Melbourne. But her protected ranking and the withdrawals from the main draw gave her a direct entry into the event. Raducanu played her first match in eight months at Auckland. She lost in the second round but looked confident on the court. Raducanu will be facing Shelby Rogers in a high-voltage first-round battle.
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki will be playing at the Australian Open for the first time since 2020. She won the title in 2018 and hopes to pull off upsets in the main draw. Wozniacki had reached the US Open fourth round a few months ago in her first grand slam appearance in three years. She will face last year’s semifinalist, Magda Linette, in the opening round.
Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff had reached the fourth round in Melbourne last season. She has yet to reach the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. Gauff lifted her first grand slam title at the 2023 US Open and has started this season with a title win in Auckland. Gauff will be facing Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the opening round.
Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka had a great start to the season by recording two bagels in her first two matches at Brisbane. But she suffered a tough loss in the final against Rybakina and was bageled in the first set. Sabalenka is the defending champion in Melbourne and hopes to collect her second grand slam trophy. She will be facing qualifier and grand slam debutant Ella Seidel.
Barbora Krejcikova
Barbora Krejcikova has not played a match since November last year. She might need a bit of time to get adjusted to the conditions in Melbourne. Krejcikova won the French Open in 2021 and recorded her best performances in each of the next three grand slams. She lost in the fourth round at Melbourne last year. This time, Krejcikova will face wildcard entry Mai Hontama in round 128.