Australian Open 2024: The tournament of comebacks and heartbreaks – who stands a chance in the finals?

Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz - who will win the first Grand Slam of 2024?

Australian Open 2024: The tournament of comebacks and heartbreaks – who stands a chance in the finals?

Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic (Via: Wikipedia, Tennis Majors, The New Yorker and Wall Street Journal)

Major comebacks. Major disappointments. This Australian Open has a mix of all. The 7th day of the 2024 AO, brought in a lot of upsets and also set up a rather clear picture regarding the final of the tournament. Although in the sprint to the ultimate showdown, major players are still on the run but also big names stumbled on their way to the grand trophy.

The season started off with players like Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Emma Raducanu making a re-entry after almost a year’s hiatus. Although Osaka and Kerber succumbed in the first round, Brit Raducanu managed to reach the second round, where she was beaten by Wang Yafan in a thrilling three-setter.

YouTube video

The major upset that came in was when young player Mirra Andreeva overcame her idol world number 6 Ons Jabeur in the second round at the Rod Laver Arena. The very next day Brisbane International champion, Elena Rybakina lost to Anna Blinkova in a historical match. And today, world number 1 Iga Swiatek faced a major upset against Linda Noskova in an easy three-set match.

FS Video

On the men’s side the top two seeds, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are still in the game, but major losses were suffered by several stars as well. In the very first round Austrian player, Dominic Thiem lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime (FAA) in a captivating 5-setter match. In the second round, American stars Christopher Eubanks and Frances Tiafoe got thrashed. Other major players to get outrun today are Grigor Dimitrov, FAA and Casper Ruud.

Who can be the champion of the Australian Open 2024?

Well, to be honest, nothing at this point can be considered accurate. With Swiatek and Rybakina out, there are chances that a new face can clench the trophy. Although defending champion Aryna Sabalenka is still in the game, along with US Open champion, young star Coco Gauff.

Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka (Via AO)

If a miracle sort of happened, then young player of the year, Andreeva can also manage to grab the biggest victory of her career, but that might seem too unlikely. One can’t really say anything yet though. Elina Svitolina is also still in the run, and her season started off well too by making it to the finals of the Auckland Open.

On the men’s side, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jannik Sinner can be expected to reach at least the quarterfinals or semis of the tournament. On the other hand, Russian stars Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev can also outrun others. But the trophy is most likely going either to Carlos Alcaraz or Djokovic. Although chances for the former to be champ are slightly more as the Serb is struggling with a wrist injury.

Prediction for Women’s Champion: Coco Gauff

Prediction for Men’s Champion: Carlos Alcaraz

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