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The first tennis major of the season begins Monday in Melbourne (Sunday in Canadian time zones). Here are a few things to know about this year’s Australian Open, which includes seven Canadian singles players:
It’s the start of a new era.
This is the first Slam since Serena Williams and Roger Federer, arguably the two greatest players of all time, walked away from tennis last fall. Though neither had won a major in years, and Federer’s last serious match came in mid-2021, the loss of two living legends with a combined 43 Grand Slam singles titles is being felt at the site of their final major victories.
Some other big names are missing.
Men’s No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is out with a leg injury, continuing a troubling trend of health problems for the 19-year-old Spaniard. After winning his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open last September to become the youngest man ever to reach the top of the world rankings, Alcaraz missed the season-ending ATP Finals with a torn abdomen muscle.
Also absent is defending women’s champion Ash Barty. The Aussie retired holding the No. 1 ranking last March, shortly after capturing her home major for the first time. Two-time Australian Open champ Naomi Osaka withdrew before announcing yesterday that she’s pregnant. An injury to Venus Williams cost the seven-time Slam winner a chance to compete in her 22nd Aussie Open.
Novak Djokovic is back.
A year ago, the Serbian star’s shot at a fourth straight Australian Open title vanished when the government yanked his visa and kicked him out of the country amid an outcry over his not being vaccinated against COVID-19. Djokovic even faced a three-year ban from re-entering, raising the possibility that his Open-era record ninth Aussie Open title would be his last. But Australia has since relaxed its rules and Djokovic, who remains unvaxxed, was welcomed back.
Down to No. 5 in the world after his jab refusal also cost him a chance to compete in the U.S. Open and other high-profile events in America last season, Djokovic landed on the opposite side of the men’s bracket from defending champ Rafael Nadal, who became the top seed when Alcaraz pulled out. That sets up a potential championship showdown between Nadal and Djokovic, who can match the Spaniard’s all-time record of 22 men’s Grand Slam titles here.
Iga Swiatek could be the Next One.
The relentless 21-year-old Pole doesn’t have Serena’s flair (who does?) but at times last season she displayed Williams-esque dominance. After falling in the semifinals of the Australian Open, Swiatek rattled off a 37-match winning streak that started in February, included her second French Open title and didn’t end until July when she lost in the third round at Wimbledon. Swiatek went on to capture her first U.S. Open title and became the first woman since Serena in 2013 to win eight tournaments in a season.
The top-ranked Swiatek’s lead atop the women’s list is almost inconceivable. She has more than twice the rankings points of No. 2 Ons Jabeur, who last season became the first Arab woman to reach a Slam final.
Is Felix Auger-Aliassime poised for a Grand Slam breakthrough?
That’s the question on every Canadian tennis fan’s mind after the 22-year-old’s incredible finish last season. Knocked prior to last year for his 0-8 lifetime record in ATP Tour finals, Auger-Aliassime captured four titles in 2022 — including three in a row in October on indoor courts in Europe. That remarkable run, which included a semifinal victory over the top-ranked Alcaraz, catapulted Auger-Aliassime into the lucrative eight-man ATP Finals for the first time. Though he failed to get out of the group stage, a win over Nadal helped push the Canadian’s season earnings north of $4 million US and lift his ranking to a career-high sixth.
Then, in late November, Auger-Aliassime powered Canada to its first title in the 122-year history of the Davis Cup by winning all three of his singles matches without dropping a set in knockout-round victories over Germany, Italy and Australia. Felix also upset Alcaraz in the group stage to spark a comeback win over Spain that allowed Canada to advance to the elimination phase. With his two victories over Alcaraz last year, Auger-Aliassime is now 3-0 lifetime vs. the Spanish phenom often touted as the next Nadal.
But tennis players are ultimately judged on their performance in the Slams, and Auger-Aliassime has yet to reach a final. A trip to the 2021 U.S. Open semifinals is his deepest major run to date. Felix has performed well at the Australian Open, reaching the quarter-finals last year and the round of 16 in 2021, so this looks like a good opportunity for him to truly earn a place among the very best in the world.
Auger-Aliassime, who’s now ranked seventh but seeded sixth for the Australian Open, headlines the seven Canadian singles players competing in Melbourne. His first-round opponent is his Davis Cup teammate Vasek Pospisil, ranked 94th. No. 20 seed Denis Shapovalov is the other Canadian in the men’s draw.
None of the four Canadians in the women’s tournament are seeded. No. 39-ranked Leylah Fernandez, No. 42 Bianca Andreescu and No. 66 Rebecca Marino are joined by 191st-ranked Katherine Sebov, who earned her first appearance in a Grand Slam main draw today by winning her third consecutive qualifying match. If Sebov were to upset fourth-seeded Caroline Garcia and Fernandez takes out 34th-ranked Alizé Cornet (the player who snapped Swiatek’s winning streak), the Canadians would meet in the second round.
Also competing in Melbourne is Canadian doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski, who’s ranked seventh in the world and plays with Mexico’s Giuliana Olmos. Read more about who the Canadians and other key players in the singles brackets will be facing in the first round here.
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