Mats Wilander picks Daniil Medvedev over Rafael Nadal as Novak Djokovic’s biggest threat in the Australian Open 2023
Mats Wilander considers Novak Djokovic as the heavy favorite for the Australian Open.
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Mats Wilander,Novak Djokovic,Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal
Swedish Tennis legend Mats Wilander has his say on Novak Djokovic‘s chances in the Australian Open 2023 and whom he considers to be the Serbian’s greatest threat there. With Rafael Nadal struggling to get back to his top form, Wilander has considered Daniil Medvedev to be that person.
Mats Wilander quoted, “I think Novak is the number one favorite for many, many reasons. I mean, obviously, one reason is that he’s won the Australian Open nine times. The surface is perfect for him. The revenge he most probably wants will be winning in Melbourne. Daniil Medvedev would most probably be the biggest threat that I see to him [Djokovic]. Of course, Rafa is going to be there and give a big challenge, but I would think Novak is a pretty heavy favorite this year.“
Wilander continued his thoughts on how massive it will be if Novak Djokovic is able to win his 10th Australian Open title this year making the Grand Slam tally to a tie again at 22 with Rafael Nadal, “The race is back on. If he wins it, it’s 22-22 [Grand Slams tally with Nadal]. He has got to get to 22 before the French Open comes in May because Rafa might grab another one. You cannot lose in Melbourne and be 21 and Rafa gets to 23.”
He also considers a 10th Australian Open title will be equal to Rafael Nadal’s 14 French Open titles since the Hard courts are a more open tournament for him, “You can easily compare the record of winning 10 Australian Opens with Rafa Nadal winning 14 French Opens.
I think that in today’s men’s professional tennis, a lot of them have grown up on clay, but on hard courts, they are all experts. I think that if you win 10 Australian Opens on hard courts, that means you have to beat maybe the best field in tennis because everybody knows how to play on hard courts. So I think that achievement would be unbelievable. Nine is already unbelievable.” (Source: Eurosport UK)
Who can stop Novak Djokovic in Australia?
21-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic won his 30th consecutive match in Australia after he beat Constant Lestienne 6-3,6-2 in his opening Adelaide International match. It was the first victory of the Serbian in Australia in his first match played here after 2020. Novak Djokovic who had a great end to the 2022 season will look forward to carrying his form in Australia.
Including the triumph in Wimbledon, Djokovic jointly owns the record for the most ATP titles won with Carlos Alcaraz in 2022(5). With the ATP finals title, Djokovic became the first player since Roger Federer in 2010 to win at least one title each of each level in the same calendar season. The Serbian won 5 titles this season: 1 ATP250,1 ATP500,1 ATP1000, 1 ATP Finals, and 1 Grand Slam.
Djokovic also increases the ‘Big Titles’ count to 65 in 2022- the highest ever in history. The closest competitor is Rafael Nadal with 59. (For the uninitiated, ‘Big titles’ include the titles won in Grand Slam championships, ATP Finals, ATP Masters 1000 tournament, and an Olympic singles gold medal)
Novak Djokovic has finished inside Top-5 for the 15th time (1 behind All-time record held by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with 16 Top-5 year finishes) in 2022. With a bunch of records broken despite not playing a number of tournaments last year, a rejuvenated Djokovic is already producing his best tennis in the initial rounds of the Adelaide International, and stopping him in the Australian Open is not going to be easy.
Also Read: Roger Federer declines Tennis Australia’s special invite to attend the 2023 Australian Open
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