Mats Wilander points out why Novak Djokovic might fail to win the Australian Open despite picking him as his favorite
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Novak Djokovic - FirstSportz
World No 5 Novak Djokovic had the most unfortunate setback of his life when he was deported on the eve of his match at the 2022 Australian Open due to his Covid-19 vaccination status. That’s not all, he even failed to defend his title and his visa was even canceled for three years. Mats Wilander makes a huge claim on how the Serb might fail to win the Championship despite picking him as his top favorite.
He was even forced to skip all the tournaments in the North American swing, especially the US Open. His absence from the Tour impacted his rankings, and he found himself out of the Top 5. But he ended the year on a winning note by clinching his 6th ATP Finals title which equaled the record of Roger Federer. Moreover, he managed to win 18 out of his last 19 matches of the year as he made it to four consecutive finals while managing to win three out of them.
The 7-time Grand Slam champion went on to state that the 21-time Grand Slam champion would be hungry to win the title since he had successfully won the title from 2019 to 2021 and is even a 9-time champion at Down Under. He identified Novak Djokovic as the favorite to win the title over defending champion Rafael Nadal and the 2022 Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev.
During an interview, Wilander said that “In Australia, I expect a very, very hungry Novak Djokovic, it will be really difficult to beat him. I see Nole as the clear favorite, ahead of Medvedev, who gives his best on hard courts, and Nadal, the outgoing champion. The only thing that can betray Djokovic is precisely his desire to overdo it, to demonstrate, after everything that happened to him in Australia a year ago, that that tournament is his home.”
Continuing his train of thoughts, the former Swedish tennis player added that “Imagine the pressure this 19-year-old boy is under now, who managed to gain the world’s first position in front of people who won more than twenty Grand Slams. He is a phenomenon but I imagine that he may struggle to confirm himself, at least at the beginning of the season.“
Novak Djokovic tops the list of most searched athletes on Google in 2022
After a long ordeal for which he faced a lot of backlash for his firm intention of not getting vaccinated, he will make his return to Melbourne Park after two years along with his three-year visa ban revoked. He has been featured in the entry list for the 2023 Australian Open being the No 5 in the world. Novak Djokovic will be aiming for his record 10th title in Australia along with the chance of equaling the Grand Slam tally record with Nadal.
His 2023 campaign will begin with his participation in the Adelaide International tournament that will take place from 2nd to 8th January 2023. He will have the chance of playing against players like Daniil Medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Andy Murray amongst other top seeds of the tournament.
He is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time who has inspired people with his hard work, grit, determination, and resilience over the last decade. Despite his tough start to the year, Novak Djokovic tops the list of most searched athletes of 2022 followed by the 36-year-old Spaniard in the second place and Serena Williams in the third spot. World No 1 Carlos Alcaraz finds himself placed 10th in the list of most searched athletes.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)