It will be difficult for Medvedev already from the 3rd round, and for Rublev – in general from the 1st. Who will stop Djokovic and Sventek? Breaking down the Australian Open grids

The 2023 Australian Open kicks off in Melbourne on Monday. Let’s see what the main favorites can expect on it.

To do this, we studied the grids and presented the most difficult version of the path to the title.

Of the Russian men, among the contenders for the title, of course, is the finalist of the last two Australian Open Daniil Medvedev .

Daniil is calm in the first two rounds, but then it can be very difficult. Already in the third round, Sebastian Korda looms, in Adelaide he got closer to the victory over Novak Djokovic than Medvedev himself . And in the fourth round, a meeting with Hubert Hurkach is likely, who last year already beat the Russian and in general has been constantly creating problems for him in recent years.

And already in the quarter-finals, a repetition of last year’s final against Rafael Nadal is possible .

Andrei Rublev already in the first round got the 2020 finalist and ex-third racket of the world Dominic Thiem – and this, of course, is a potential blockbuster that can end in the defeat of the Russian. On the other hand, Tim, after a wrist injury, is far from being at the peak of his power, and he did not impress at the first tournaments of the season.

And if Andrei passes the Austrian and uncomfortable Dan Evans in the third round (cutting the British gives him a lot of problems on hard), then from the fourth round he will get on very tough guys. And to reach his first career Grand Slam semi-final, he will probably have to beat Djokovic.

Djokovic himself is the main and unconditional favorite of the tournament. Moreover, he got a very good mesh.

The Serb will have the opportunity to calmly roll into the tournament without straining his injured hip , and the most difficult stage before the decisive match, apparently, will be the quarterfinals.

Reigning champion Nadal arrived in Melbourne after losing six of his last seven matches and has already complained about the balls that will be played in the tournament. And the network is not easy.

In the first round is the young and talented southpaw Jack Draper, whom Rafa described as one of the toughest opponents possible at this stage. And then there will be only players who can create big problems for him – especially if he is not at the peak of his playing form.

Kasper Ruud reached two Grand Slam finals last year, but at the Australian Open, in his own words, he will be satisfied with the second week .