Graham Ruthven has three outright selections for the Men's Australian Open.
The first Grand Slam of the year is upon us. The great and good of the tennis world will descend on Melbourne Park over the next two weeks having rested up over the winter. The Australian Open often witnesses the best tennis of the whole year due to the fact that the players are never fresher than they are at this stage of the season. Brace yourself. Here are some ante post tips for the men’s singles ahead of it all getting under way on Monday.
The favourites
Last week’s inaugural ATP Cup provided a taste of what could be, based on ranking, this year’s Australian Open final, with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal meeting in Sydney. Djokovic came out on top in straight sets, hinting that the Serbian is still the man to beat on the Australian hard courts. Nadal’s decision to withdraw from the ATP Cup final doubles after that defeat also suggests that he is still not in peak physical condition.
Daniil Medvedev deserves to be mentioned as one of the favourites to go all the way at the first Grand Slam of the year. The Russian enjoyed a sensational run of form in the second half of 2019, coming within a set of winning his first major title at the US Open. Of all the so-called ‘Next Gen’ tipped to topple ‘The Big Three,’ Medvedev looks the best equipped. Not only does he have the game to stubbornly stick with the best, but he has the mentality, something someone like Sascha Zverev still lacks.
2pts - 5/4 Novak Djokovic To Win 2020 Australian Open
The outsiders
Picking a winner from outside the usual suspects has been a fool’s errand in this generation of the men’s game, with Marin Cilic the last player to break Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka’s stranglehold on the sport’s biggest prizes. At some point, though, the streak will come to an end.
Not so long ago, Medvedev would have been considered an outsider, but to put such a tag on the Russian now seems wide of the mark. Matteo Berrettini enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2019, making the semi finals of the US Open and finishing ranked in the top eight. The Italian’s highly charged game should work well on the Australian hard courts. After all, Melbourne Park is usually where the sport’s big hitters find their best tennis. Berrettini could be a factor in the latter rounds here.
Andrey Rublev looks set for a good Australian Open campaign. The young Russian comes into the tournament having won the Qatar Open and is playing some excellent tennis right now. Channelling his aggression in the right way has always been the issue for Rublev, but he’s now doing that, also performing well in Adelaide, and is surging up the rankings.
Of all the outsiders, though, Stefanos Tsitsipas looks to be the best bet. The 21-year-old is the youngest player ranked in the men’s top 10 and made something of a breakthrough by winning the ATP Tour Finals having qualified for the end-of-year tournament for the first time. Tsitsipas suffered a mental dip midway through 2019, but if he can find the sharpness he found in London late last year he will be a challenger in Melbourne.
0.5pts - 12/1 Stefanos Tsitsipas To Win 2020 Australian Open
Storyline to watch
The end of 2019 didn’t just see the ‘Next Gen’ knocking on the door, but threatening to batter it down as Medvedev reached the final of the US Open before Tsitsipas beat Dominic Thiem to win the ATP Tour Finals. It feels like 2020 might finally be the year that the chasing pack catches up with ‘The Big Three.’
Of course, Djokovic and Nadal are still setting the standard, but Medvedev and Tsitsipas in particular look ready to claim their first major. Others are likely to make the step up as well. Denis Shapovalov, for example, could have a big year with the 20-year-old Canadian currently at a career high ranking of 13 and only trending in one direction - up. Men’s tennis has waited for this moment for a long time. It might finally be here and the Australian Open could illustrate it.
1pt - 8/1 Daniil Medvedev To Win 2020 Australian Open
