Australian Open men's preview: Federer, Djokovic or Nadal?
The men's singles draw at the Australian Open 2019 has put Novak Djokovic as the natural favorite for the final victory. The world no. 1 will have a possible second round against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
However, until the possible quarter-final against Kei Nishikori, the draw of the Serb does not seem to be that tough. In the semi-final then, he could find either Alexander Zverev or Dominic Thiem, or an outsider. Djokovic didn't shine in Doha, but we are sure that his level will rise in Melbourne. Zverev's path could be more difficult, especially because on his side there are also Nick Kyrgios, Hyeon Chung, Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic, who will play the first round against Kyrgios.
Things are more interesting in the bottom half. Roger Federer is on the same section as Marin Cilic, Andy Murray, Stefan Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov, while in the semi-finals he could meet Rafael Nadal.
The Swiss will have to defend the points and the title of 2018, and it will not be easy; his draw is more complicated than that of Djokovic and also that of Nadal. However he appeared in shape at the Hopman Cup, and the surface of Melbourne favors his tennis. If he were to arrive in excellent form, as in 2017 and 2018, then nothing will be impossible.
Nadal is obviously the other favorite credited for the final victory. Despite the fast playing surface, he has proven he knows how to adapt perfectly to it. If the physical conditions of Spaniard will be at the top (and the last injury overcome), he will be a fearsome adversary for anyone, even for Djokovic. Up to the possible quarters with Kevin Anderson, his draw is not particularly complex.
Zverev will have a great chance to improve his results in a Major, but to date it seems that the favorites for the Australian Open 2019 are Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
Attention to Anderson; if the Big Three were to fail, he was immediately behind them, above all for the fast surface, for the form shown at the beginning of January and for the experience accumulated in such events. It will also be an opportunity to assess the progress of three players who came back after long injuries like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2019 - PREDICTIONS:
Percentages: Novak Djokovic 40% Rafael Nadal 25% Roger Federer 25% Kevin Anderson 10% Possible final: Djokovic-Nadal 50% Djokovic-Federer 40% Djokovic-Anderson 10% Outsiders: Kei Nishikori and Karen Khachanov
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2SShGht
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