The men’s draw for the Australian Open has taken place with some mouth-watering first round clashes looming.
Roger Federer will be seeking to win the tournament for a third consecutive year in a row to bring his overall total to a record 21. The 37-year-old enters Melbourne in solid form after winning the Hopman Cup alongside Belinda Bencic. At the tournament in Perth, he scored wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Cameron Norrie and Frances Tiafoe.
“I think I was seeking confirmation that my level of play was good in practice. In the off-season I felt great, didn’t miss any sessions.” Federer said about his Hopman Cup performance during the draw presentation.
“When I went to Perth I was feeling good, but you never know if it is going to translate into victories. I played great in singles and doubles.”
Federer will start his campaign this year against Denis Istomin. A former top 40 player who reached the fourth round of the tournament back in 2017 in what was one of his best ever runs in the a grand slam. Should he prevail, Federer will then play a qualifier in the second round followed potentially by Gael Monfils and Stefanos Tsitsipas if the draw goes according to the seeds.
“The moment you find out the draw and see who you will play in the first round, that is when you shift your focus only to that first round.” The six-time champion explained.
#3 Federer’s path #AusOpen
R1 – Istomin
R2 – Q
R3 – Monfils
R4 – Tsitsipas/Basilashvili
QF – Cilic/Khachanov/RBA/Murray
SF – Nadal/Anderson
F – Djokovic/Zverev/Thiem/Nishikori— José Morgado (@josemorgado) 10 January 2019
World No.1 Novak Djokovic will be hoping to continue his 14-match winning streak in grand slam tournaments when he returns to Melbourne next week. The Serbian kicks-off his campaign against a yet to be confirmed qualifier. Then in the second round there could be an intriguing showdown with France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in what will be a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final, which Djokovic won. Also lurking in his section could be Denis Shapovalov in the last 32 followed by either David Goffin or Daniil Medvedev.
#1 Djokovic’s path #AusOpen
R1 – Q
R2 – Tsonga/Klizan
R3 – Shapovalov
R4 – Goffin/Medvedev
QF – Nishikori/Carreño/Fognini
SF – Zverev/Coric/Thiem
F – Nadal/Federer— José Morgado (@josemorgado) 10 January 2019
Both Federer and Djokovic are bidding to win the Australian Open for a seventh time this year. If one of them do so, they would become the most decorated male singles player in the history of the tournament.
After an injury-stricken start to the 2019 season, Rafael Nadal is out to prove that he can still challenge for hard court titles. A favourable draw will see him not play a player ranked inside the top 25 until at least the fourth round. He will open against home favourite James Duckworth, who won the Australian Open wildcard play-offs in December. Should he win, he would then take on either Matthew Ebden or Jan-Lennard Struff. Perhaps one of his biggest tests could be in the form of Alex de Minaur in the third round, however, Nadal dismissed the Australian in straight sets at Wimbledon last year. Also in the Spaniard’s section will be 13th seed Kyle Edmund and 18th seed Diego Schwartzman, who are both potential fourth round opponents.
#2 Nadal’s path #AusOpen
R1 – Duckworth
R2 – Struff/Ebden
R3 – De Minaur
R4 – Edmund/Schwartzman
QF – Anderson/Dimitrov/Isner
SF – Federer/Cilic/Khachanov/Tsitsipas
F – Djokovic/Zverev/Thiem/Nishikori— José Morgado (@josemorgado) 10 January 2019
ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev opens up against Aljaz Bedene. The German enters that tournament with a duo of injury concerns. He recently withdrew from the World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide due to a hamstring problem. On top of that, he has reportedly suffered a foot injury during a practice session at Melbourne Park.
Tough first round clashes for Raonic, Murray
In the early rounds there could be some fireworks. Milos Raonic, who reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 2016, starts against Nick Kyrgios in what could be a marathon match if both players stand firm behind serve. The winner will then play either the formidable Stan Wawrinka or Ernests Gulbis.
Andy Murray, who enters the event with some fitness concerns, starts against Qatar Open champion Roberto Bautista Agut. Murray missed the draw last year due to a hip injury. If either of those players want to reach the second week, they may need to defeat 10th seed Karen Khachanov and Marin Cilic. Cilic opens up against the unpredictable Bernard Tomic.
Edmund, who has a wealth of points to defend following his run to the semi-finals of the tournament 12 months ago, takes on Tomas Berdych in the first round. Berdych was troubled by injury last year, but has shown signs of returning back to top form. Illustrated by his run to the final in Doha last week.
The main draw will get underway on Monday.
Projected fourth round draws
Djokovic Vs Medvedev
Fognini Vs Nishikori
Zverev Vs Raonic
Coric Vs Thiem
Cilic Vs Khachanov
Tsitsipas Vs Federer
Anderson Vs Isner
Edmund Vs Nadal
Full draw
