Five players who can win the Australian Open 2021

With the 2020 season done and dusted, tennis fans all over the world will be waiting for the Australian Open 2021. The tournament is special in many ways as it marks the return of Roger Federer, after almost a year of staying on the sidelines, nursing a knee injury. Novak Djokovic is the defending champion in Melbourne and has won the title a record 8 times.

Novak Djokovic undoubtedly enters the Australian Open as the favourite but with the likes of Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev catching up to the Old Guard of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, we are not far away from the moment, these NextGen players will take over at the big stages.

In this article, we will have a look at the top five players who are the in contention to win the Australian Open 2021.

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic, World number one and defending champion at the Australian Open, comes into Melbourne as the sheer favourite. He will be looking to claim his third consecutive title at the Australian Open. The Serbian humbled Rafael Nadal in the finals of 2019, defeating him in straight sets. He survived an onslaught from Dominic Thiem in the finals of the Australian Open this year, getting past the Austrian in five sets.

Novak Djokovic holds the record for most Australian Open titles with eight of them to his name. He has consistently beaten the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at Melbourne. If French Open is Nadal’s territory, then in all fairness the Australian Open is the Serbian’s. If Djokovic wins the Australian Open 2021, he will move to 18 majors just two short of Nadal and Federer.

Related: Countdown to 2021: Records and Milestones Novak Djokovic might achieve in the coming year

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal has suffered plenty of heartbreaks at the Australian Open ever since 2009, when he lifted his first and only Australian Open title defeating Roger Federer in the final. He has lost in the four finals in the past 8 years, losing to Novak Djokovic in 2012 and 2019, Federer in 2017 and Stan Wawrinka in 2014. The Spaniard has been hampered by injuries and the tough playing conditions in Melbourne.

Last year, Nadal suffered a quarterfinal loss to Dominic Thiem who defeated him in 4 sets, after winning 3 important tiebreakers. Rafael Nadal would be looking forward to end his misery at the Australian and finally claim his second title, which will make him the first man ever to complete the Double Career Grandslam.

Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem has shown us year after year that he is capable enough of competing at the highest level. After losing two French Open finals in 2018 and 2019 to Rafael Nadal, Thiem lost yet again in the Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic this year. But he finally managed to lay his hands on his first ever major after defeating Alexander Zverev in a five set thriller in the US Open final.

The Austrian also managed to reach his second consecutive Nitto ATP Finals, but lost again, this time to Daniil Medvedev. The Austrian has enjoyed enormous success over the likes of Big 3 and became the only player to have 5 or more wins against each of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic after he defeated Nadal and Djokovic at the Nitto ATP Finals. Dominic Thiem would be looking forward to better his performance and go one step further at Australian Open 2021.

Alexander Zverev

Before the start of 2020, Alexander Zverev was criticized for choking at Grandslam stages. The German answered his critics in the best possible way, reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open and the finals of the US Open, where he lost to Dominic Thiem on both occasions. The German has learned to deal with pressure in the recent times and is all set to take a step further in the 2021 season.

Alexander Zverev has raised his quality on the hard court surface which was evident in his back to back titles in Cologne. He is certainly a force to reckon with in the coming years, as the German does certainly possess a lot of quality in him.

Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev ended the season on a high after his back to back titles at the Paris Masters and the Nitto ATP Finals. The young Russian who could not register a single win in 2019 in London went unbeaten on his way to the title this year.He defeated the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem, all within a week.

Daniil Medvedev was having a torrid time on tour where he lost in the first rounds of the Hamburg Open and the French Open coupled with early exits at his home tournament at Petersburg and the Vienna Open. But the Russian completely turned his season around at the Paris Masters which he won defeating Alexander Zverev in the finals. He continued his momentum and won the Nitto ATP Finals, ending the year on a ten-match unbeaten streak. Going into the Australian Open 2021, he is surely up there with the likes of Djokovic, Nadal to win the title.

Also Read: Countdown to 2021: Records and Milestones Rafael Nadal might achieve in the coming year