MADRID, Jan. 16 (SportsFinding) –
The Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal will debut before the Bolivian Hugo Dellien in the Australian Open, the first 'Grand Slam' of the season and that starts next Monday, and will face a tough frame until the final rounds, although he avoided the Swiss Roger Federer by his side.
The draw that was held on Thursday of the final picture of the 'big' that is played in Melbourne Park was not excessively benevolent with Manacor, although the hard track does not leave too much room to choose which rivals are more suitable.
In this sense, the 'best' news was that the faces would not be seen until a hypothetical final, in addition to the Serbian Novak Djokovic, current champion and favorite number two, with the Swiss Roger Federer, third series head who will go for the side of Belgrade.
The premiere of the 2009 champion will be against Bolivian Hugo Dellien, currently number 72 in the world rankings who will play for the first time this 'Grand Slam' and against which he has never played. If it surpasses the South American, the Argentine Federico Delbonis or the Portuguese João Sousa would be the next opponent, while in the third round he could measure his compatriot and doubles partner in the ATP Cup, Pablo Carreño, head number 27 and still He doesn't know his first rival.
From there, the road will steep because between its possible crossings of the round of 16 two 'bones' are glimpsed. One is the wayward Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios, with whom he does not maintain a good relationship either on or off the track and with whom he would play with the public 'against', and the other is the Russian Karen Kachanov.
For the quarterfinals, the world number one would have the Austrian Dominic Thiem, fifth favorite, and on his side of the box to reach the final he fell the Russian Daniil Medvedev, fourth head of series and with which he already lived a 'battle 'on the hard track in the final of the last US Open.
As for Djokovic, a great favorite and seven times champion of the tournament, the start will not be entirely comfortable against a punch like German Jan-Lennard Struff and until the quarterfinals the picture seems more friendly. There, the names of the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and Roberto Bautista are presented as favorites.
For the semifinals could be Roger Federer, who will debut before the American Steve Johnson and who has dangerous players like Canadian Denis Shapovalov, Polish Hubert Hurkacz or the unpredictable Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, with Italian Matteo Berrettini as a possible rival in rooms.
Of the rest of Spaniards, Bautista, who has shown good form in the ATP Cup and that starts as the ninth head of the series, will live a complicated national duel against Feliciano López. Fernando Verdasco and Alejandro Davidovich must wait until the previous one ends, and Albert Ramos will face the Australian Alex Bolt, Jaume Munar the Frenchman Hugo Gaston, Roberto Carballés the Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis, and Pablo Andújar the American Michel Mmoh.
For its part, in the women's team, the Spanish-Venezuelan Garbiñe Muguruza, who had to retire this Thursday from the Hobart tournament due to a viral infection, will have a rival classified since the previous one, but already in the third round he could cross the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, fifth favorite.
In addition, the Canarian Carla Suarez will have a hard premiere, as she will face the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, eleventh seeded, and the Castellon Sara Sorribes will cross with the Russian Veronika Kudermetova, who will play the semifinals in Hobart for the abandonment of Muguruza . Paula Badosa also has to wait for the previous one to end.
The world number one, the local Asleigh Barty, will start against the Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko and will go to the side of the Japanese Naomi Osaka, defender of the title, and the American Serena Williams.