The first Major of 2023 begins on Monday in Melbourne, Australia. 

In men’s singles, nine-time champion Novak Djokovic is a strong favorite to win his 10^th Slam title down under, even despite concerns regarding a leg injury he suffered last week in Adelaide.  Winning this title would tie Djokovic with Rafael Nadal at 22 Majors apiece.  Novak of course was not allowed to play this event a year ago, and has not lost a match in Australia since 2018. 

Nadal is the defending champion and top seed, but has lost six of his last seven matches, and faces a tough first round draw on Monday in one of the ATP’s fastest-rising stars, Jack Draper.  The other men’s finalist from a year ago, Daniil Medvedev, is in the same quarter of the draw as Nadal, and will also play his opening match on Monday.

The women’s singles draw is headlined by 2022’s dominant World No.1 Iga Swiatek, who has drawn Wimbledon quarterfinalist Jule Neimeier in her first round match scheduled for Monday evening.  And the only two WTA players who have previously won this event, Victoria Azarenka and Sofia Kenin, will meet in the first round on Monday afternoon.

Each day this preview will highlight the four most intriguing matchups, while outlining the other notable matches on the schedule.  Monday’s play will begin at 11:00am local time.

Rafael Nadal (1) vs. Jack Draper – Not Before 2:30pm on Rod Laver Arena

A year ago, Nadal accomplished perhaps the most surprising and inspiring Major title run of his storied career.  After missing five months of competition due to foot surgery, Rafa arrived in Australia with fairly low expectations.  But the King of Clay went on to claim his 21^st Major title in dramatic fashion, coming back from two sets down to defeat Medvedev in a five-and-a-half hour final.

A year later, Nadal’s chances of winning this event seem even slimmer.  He comes into the Australian Open having lost six of his last seven matches, as his chronic foot injury remains a significant issue.  A few weeks ago, Rafa revealed he’s received several more injections in his left foot since Wimbledon.

Draper is a 21-year-old lefty who started last season ranked 262^nd in the world.  But thanks to a 46-19 record at all levels, which included four Challenger titles within the first three months of last year, the Brit is now ranked inside the top 40.  And just this week, he reached the semifinals in Adelaide, with victories over the likes of Karen Khachanov and Tommy Paul.

In his first match against Nadal, Draper has a legitimate chance to oust the defending champion.  While Rafa historically has a fantastic record against fellow lefties, he’s lost two of his last three matches against left-handers (Shapovalov, Norrie).  However, defeating perhaps the sport’s fiercest competitor of all-time in best-of-five remains a significant challenge.  And as Nadal reminded us last year, count Rafa out at your own risk.

Sofia Kenin vs. Victoria Azarenka (24) – Third on Margaret Court Arena

It’s pretty wild that only two of the 128 players in the women’s singles draw have won this tournament, and they have been drawn against each other in the first round.  It’s now been 10 years since Azarenka completed her back-to-back title runs in Melbourne.  She was a modest 24-13 last season.  However, Vika ended the year with an impressive semifinal run in Guadalajara, where she beat Paula Badosa, Madison Keys, and Coco Gauff.

Kenin has withstood an extremely challenging time in her career since being named the 2020 WTA Player of the Year.  Across the past two years, Sofia has endured injuries, appendicitis, and both a split and reunion with her father as her coach.  Last season, she went 4-13 at tour level, losing nine consecutive matches between January and August.  Kenin ended the year playing lower-level events, and is now ranked 280^th in the world, though she did advance to the semifinals this past week in Hobart as a wild card.

These players have split two previous meetings, which were remarkably different.  Four years ago in Acapulco on a hard court, Kenin outlasted Azarenka 7-5 in the third.  Three years ago in Rome on clay, Vika prevailed 6-0, 6-0.  Sofia surprisingly rebounded extremely well from that demoralizing loss, advancing to the final of Roland Garros just a few weeks later.  In their rubber match on Monday, Azarenka must be favored based on recent form, but I do expect Kenin to bounce back and become a factor again in 2023.

Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Jule Niemeier – 7:00pm on Rod Laver Arena

When Australia’s Ash Barty retired from the sport after winning her home Slam last January, Swiatek wasted no time in becoming the WTA’s most dominant No.1 player in recent memory.  Iga went 67-9 last season, with eight titles, two of them Majors (Roland Garros, US Open).  She was a semifinalist here a year ago, and went 3-1 to start this season in the United Cup.

Niemeier also reached new heights in 2022.  The 23-year-old from Germany was a surprise quarterfinalist at Wimbledon, where she narrowly lost an excellent quarterfinal to Tatjana Maria 7-5 in the third.  Jule also advanced to the second week of the US Open, where she took the first set from Swiatek before losing 6-0 in the third.

That fourth round match in New York was their only previous encounter.  And considering Niemeier comes into this match on a four-match losing streak, Swiatek should comfortably advance on Monday evening.

Marcos Giron vs. Daniil Medvedev (7) – Last on Rod Laver Arena

Since losing last year’s Australian Open final in such a devastating manner, Medvedev has not been the same player.  Daniil has only claimed two titles in the last 52 weeks, at 250 and 500-level hard court events.  He missed most of the clay court season due to a hernia injury, and failed to advance beyond the fourth round at Roland Garros or the US Open.  The Russian was not allowed to play Wimbledon.

Giron is a 29-year-old American who debuted inside the top 50 for the first time last year.  In September, he was the runner-up in San Diego.  But he is 0-3 lifetime at this event, and has drawn a top 10 seed in the first round for the third consecutive year, after previously drawing Nadal and Sascha Zverev.

Three years ago on a hard court, Medvedev defeated Giron in straight sets.  In the last match of the day on Rod Laver Arena, a similar result seems likely.

Other Notable Matches on Monday:

Katerina Siniakova vs. Coco Gauff (7) – Gauff lost in the first round of this event a year ago, but achieved her first Major final in singles at the next Slam.  And she’s off to a terrific start in 2023, as she won a title in Adelaide without dropping a set.  Siniakova won a hard court title this past September, and defeated Gauff in November during the Billie Jean King Cup finals.  Coco has taken their other three prior meetings.

Jessica Pegula (3) vs. Jaqueline Cristian – Pegula had a strong 2022, achieving three Major quarterfinals, and winning her first WTA 1000 event.  And Jess began 2023 by helping the United States win the inaugural United Cup, which included a decisive victory over Swiatek.  Cristian is a 24-year-old whose only win at a Major came at this tournament a year ago.

Anna Kalinskaya vs. Danielle Collins (13) – Collins was the runner-up to Ash Barty here last year, and was also a semifinalist in 2019.  Kalinskaya is 0-3 in the main draw of this event.

Bianca Andreescu vs. Marie Bouzkova (25) – Like Kenin, Andreescu is a former Major champion who has battled multiple injuries and illness across the last few years.  Bouzkova was a superb 42-14 last season, and was a Wimbledon quarterfinalist.  Bianca is 2-1 against Marie, though Bouzkova claimed their most recent meeting, two years ago in this same city.

Vasek Pospisil vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime (6) – Auger-Aliassime leads this all-Canadian head-to-head 3-1, but Pospisil beat FAA the last time they played, three years ago in Vienna.  Felix accumulated 60 wins last season, and lost a near five-hour quarterfinal at this event to Medvedev.

Alex Molcan vs. Stan Wawrinka – Wawrinka was the champion here nine years ago, but only has 12 tour-level victories across the past two years.  Molcan is coached by longtime Djokovic mentor Marian Vajda, and debuted inside the top 40 last year.

Elena Rybakina (22) vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto – The reigning Wimbledon champion continues to get no love from the scheduling committee, as she’ll be playing out on Court 13.  Cocciaretto is a 21-year-old Italian who played in the final of Hobart on Saturday.

Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) vs. Quentin Halys – Tsitsipas won 61 matches last season, and went 4-0 in the United Cup to start 2023.  Halys tested Djokovic last week in Adelaide, extending both their sets into tiebreaks, but he’s on a five-match losing streak in the main draw of this tournament.

Monday’s full Order of Play is here.