The Spanish retakes the career of the 'Grand Slam' to one of the Swiss, but with Djokovic as a favorite
Serena Williams looks again for the 24 before the Barty phenomenon
MADRID, Jan. 19 (SportsFinding) –
The Australian Open serves from Monday and until February 2 the first main course of the season, as always with just a few weeks of the year, for a 2020 that is more pending if the persecution of Rafa Nadal (19) and Novak Djokovic (16) to the 20 titles of 'Grand Slam' by Roger Federer, and the possibility of relief with new champions who have been bidding.
The tireless 'Big 3' takes the opposite of the passage of time to cut off the debates about generational relief, especially in the greater scenario of tennis. In the last three years the 'greats' have exchanged the names of Spanish, Serbian and Swiss; 55 of 66 since Federer won the first in 2003. Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Zverev or Nick Kyrgios aspire to change this scenario.
Tennis also trusts in doing therapy in the oceanic country, which is going through a tremendous environmental crisis due to the unstoppable fires of recent months, after turning to the economic. The delicate situation has been able with the sports in the previous days, a complicated fund for fans, players and organization that will not stop the show, pending the quality of the air after they have burned more than 10 million hectares.
Thus the prologue of the first 'great' has passed, which in sports comes with gallons distributed between Nadal and Djokovic, number one and two in the world. The Davis Cup and the ATP Cup, two world meetings almost followed in November and now in January, have been the last two racket meetings, also monopolized by Spanish and Serbian. In Madrid they did not cross in the title of Spain, but in Sydney, last Sunday, 'Nole' beat Nadal for the title.
The Manacor will debut on Tuesday in Melbourne against the Bolivian Hugo Dellien and leading the other part of the picture, the Belgrade will do on Monday against Jan-Lennard Struff. The arrival of the first 'big' is pending accounts for a Nadal who was champion in 2009, in an epic final against Federer, but then lost four finals, the last one last year against 'Nole'. For the Serbian instead it is a second home, with seven titles.
“It's obvious that Nadal and Djokovic will win more 'Grand Slams' than me,” said the Basel this week. And is that when Nadal won his first 'big' in 2005, Federer was already four, but 15 years later the fight is more alive than ever: 20 to 19, and Djokovic, who wins them two by two lately, with 16. The draw of the Australian team left a hard road for the Balearic from the round of 16: the local and aspiring Nick Kyrgios, Thiem and Medvedev before the final.
Djokovic, with the added high of winning the new ATP Cup, has Federer on his side. The Swiss, at 38, comes without a rhythm of competition, without an official match since the Masters Cup, where he fell to the champion Tsitsipas. The Greek was also the executioner of the winner of 20 'greats' last year in Australia and part as one of the aspirants to put an end to that supremacy of the 'Big 3'.
The Next Gen is also led by Medvedev after a final meteoric of 2019, fighting for titles and touching that generational relay in the US Open. On the other hand, Thiem or Grigor Dimitrov will not want to skip their litter, although Zverev and even Andrey Rublev or Karen Khachanov are in a hurry. The Spanish Roberto Bautista also enters the pools since his status as 'Top 10' well earned on the track.
SERENA WILLIAMS RETURNS FOR THE 24
In the women's tournament, the looks are largely for the eternal Serena Williams, determined to reach the historical record of 24 'great' that Margareth Court holds. The American, seven-time champion in Australia, won her first title in Auckland this month in three years, the first since she was a mother in 2017. After her complicated recovery she was again competitive to play four finals of 'Grand Slam' without achieving that 24.
In 2020, the youngest of the Williams returns to the charge, at 38 years of age and with a victory that feeds more if her hunger fits. The local Ashleigh Barty, champion also these days in Adelaide, part as a favorite with the approval of a kinder picture. However, a WTA Circuit accustomed to a new winner almost every weekend has a lot of candidates, such as Karolina Pliskova, Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Madison Keys or Caroline Wozniacki.
In Spanish, Garbiñe Muguruza, out of the series, had a complicated draw since his debut on Tuesday, seeking to recover the lost ground the last two years. The champion of two 'great' starts a course of blur and has new Conchita Martinez on his bench, left good feelings in Shenzhen but had to retire in Hobart. Canarian Carla Suarez, in her last season, will debut with the eleventh favorite, Aryna Sabalenka.