Goolagong, Rosewall, Joy Murphy and others to inaugurate Australian Open 2023 opening ceremony

The much-awaited Australian Open is set to begin on 16th January and end on 29 January 2023. The ceremony will be conducted in the presence of many tennis legends including the likes of Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Ken Rosewall, Aunty Joy Murphy, Craig Tiley, Steve Dimopoulos, and members of the Ballkid Squad. 

The star-studded ceremony will take place in Melbourne Park. As the first Grand Slam of the year, the event will be an exciting start for tennis fans. Without the presence of current world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and popular tennis professional Naomi Osaka in the tournament, the competition will surely be interesting for the viewers. As expected, all eyes are on Rafael Nadal and the fan favorite, Novak Djokovic. 

A charity match for Ukrainians will precede the event. The trophy will also arrive at the inauguration ceremony, beginning at 9.15 a.m., marking the official start of the prestigious Australian Open 2023.

Also Read: Ons Jabeur ready to make a dent at the Australian Open

First-Round matches to look out for in the Australian Open 2023

The starting draw of the tournament will begin on January 16, 2023, where many top-seeded players will participate in the first round, albeit with a few exceptions, as the Melbourne crowd roots for their favorite competitors. All eyes will be on the Rafael Nadal vs. Jack Draper match as the former attempts to clinch the title from the nine-time champion, Novak Djokovic.

Some of the other matches to keep an eye out for include Coco Gauff vs. Katerina Siniako, Yue Yuan vs. Maria Sakkari, Rafael Nadal vs. Jack Draper, Iga Swiatek vs. Jule Niemeier, and Daniil Medvedev vs. Marcos Giron, to name a few. As per Indian Standard Time (IST), the Grand Slam event will start at 7 p.m. EST.

With that being said, there is no denying the fact that fans are pretty excited to see Djokovic back in action after his infamous deportation from Melbourne back in 2022. The tournament is set to start at 7 a.m. EST (5.30 a.m. IST) on Monday. The event can be watched by viewers on the tournament’s Youtube channel. In addition, there has been an increase in the prize money. A fresh wave of up-and-coming young players are all set to dominate the realm of tennis for the Australian Open 2023.

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