Tennis at Tokyo Olympics 2020: Men’s Singles Draw Preview, Analysis and Prediction
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Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas
After 5 years, the Tokyo Olympics will finally begin from July 23 with the main draw matches for tennis starting from 24th July. Beijing 2008 bronze medallist and the current world no.1 Novak Djokovic enters as the top seed while Russian Daniil Medvedev is seeded second.
Tournament Details:
- Tournament: Tokyo Olympics
- Date: July 24-August 1, 2021
- Number of Entrants: 64 (Singles), 32 (Doubles)
- Venue: Tokyo, Japan
- Surface: Hard Court
- Prize Money: $0
Top Seeds at Tokyo Olympics
- Novak Djokovic
- Daniil Medvedev
- Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Alexander Zverev
- Andrey Rublev
Tokyo Olympics: Draw Prediction
Top Half
The top half of the draw will be headlined by World No.1, Novak Djokovic. He will open against World No.139 Hugo Dellian. He will either face in form German Jan Lennard Struff or Thiago Monteiro in the second round. Djokovic has been drawn alongside Alejandro Davidovich Fokina who faces Pedro Sousa in the first round. Djokovic will either face Fokina, Sousa, Millman or Musetti in the Round of 16.
5th seed Andrey Rublev will take on local Kei Nishikori in a blockbuster opening round match. Rublev has been drawn alongside Gael Monfils who opens against Ilya Ivashka. Monfils will most probably face Federico Coria in the second round while Rublev is expected to face Marcos Giron. Rublev and Monfils are expected to clash in the Round of 16 while Djokovic and Rublev could meet in the quarterfinals.
In the other quarter of the top half, German Alexander Zverev will lock horns with world no.573 Yen-Hsun Lu. The German has been handed an easy draw early on and will face either Daniel Elahi Galan or Mohamed Safwat in the second round. Zverev is drawn alongside Italian 13th seed Lorenzo Sonego who opens against local Taro Daniel. Sonego and Nikoloz Basilashvili could clash in the second round while Zverev and Basilashvili are expected to meet in the Round of 16.
Wimbledon semifinalist and Miami Open champion Hubert Hurkacz will face Marton Fucsovics in a tricky first round match. Aslan Karatsev is also placed in the same bracket and will take on Tommy Paul in the first round. The Russian sensation is expected to face Hurkacz with the winner facing Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinal.
First semifinal prediction: Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev
Bottom Half
The bottom half of the draw will feature some spicy first round matches, the first being second seed Daniil Medvedev taking on Alexander Bublik. The winner will face either India’s Sumit Nagal or Denis Istomin in the second round. 15th seed Fabio Fognini opens against Yuichi Sugita and the winner will face Egor Gerasimov or Frenchman Gilles Simon.
9th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will face defending champion Andy Murray in a huge first round match. The winner will most probably face German Dominik Koepfer in the second round. Marin Cilic and Pablo Carreno Busta are also placed in the same bracket. Medvedev is face the winner of the bracket in the quarterfinals.
Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will face German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber in the opening round and will have to battle past Frances Tiafoe in the second round. The Greek will is expected to face Ugo Humbert or Miomir Kecmanovic in the Round of 16.
8th seed Diego Schwartzman opens against world no.122 Juan Pablo Varillas and will take on Jaoa Sousa in the second round. In another first round epic, Karen Khachanov will take on home favorite Yoshihito Nishioka with the winner facing James Duckworth of Australia. Tsitsipas and Schwartzman are expected to meet in the quarterfinals.
Second semifinal prediction: Daniil Medvedev vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
Semifinals
Novak Djokovic will take on a dangerous Alexander Zverev in the first semifinal. Both the players have had an amazing season but given Djokovic’s unbeatable run, he is expected to beat the German in three sets.
Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev and French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas will battle it out in the second semifinal. Medvedev will have an upper hand because of the surface but the Greek will give him a tough challenge. Expect Medvedev to cruise into the gold medal match.
Tokyo Olympics Final: Novak Djokovic vs Daniil Medvedev
Gold Medal Match
The two best hard court players in the world currently, Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev will lock horns for the gold medal. Medvedev beat Djokovic the last time they met in a best of 3 match, at the ATP Finals last year but Djokovic will be hard to beat given his current form. This is expected to be the match of the tournament, with Djokovic coming out the victory.
Medalists:
- Gold- Novak Djokovic
- Silver- Daniil Medvedev
- Bronze- Alexander Zverev
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)