What a difference a year makes. In 2017, Roger Federer entered the Australian Open as the 17th seed thanks to a six-month layoff due to injury. Even to the Swiss, a championship run seemed unlikely. But after winning seven matches — including four against players inside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings — Federer had done the seemingly impossible, claiming his 18th Grand Slam title despite not competing since Wimbledon. This time around, there will be no surprises. After a 19th major title at Wimbledon, three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 triumphs (Indian Wells, Miami, Shanghai) and seven overall trophies on the year, Federer is arguably the favourite as the ATP World Tour’s best get set to battle it...
Five players have ruled the Grand Slams with a diamond fist for more than a decade. Roger Federer (19), Rafael Nadal (16), Novak Djokovic (12), Andy Murray (3) and Stan Wawrinka (3) have combined to win 51 of the past 54 major titles — that is a stunning 94 per cent victory rate for five players against the entire field. But it is never possible to count out the rest of the competitors. With Murray out of the Australian Open due to recent hip surgery, sixth seed Marin Cilic and No. 12 seed Juan Martin del Potro make six players in Melbourne who have previously won a Grand Slam. That means 122 of the world's best have a shot at...
Following a six-month absence from the sport to rehabilitate an elbow injury, the former World No.1 in the ATP Rankings and 12-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic makes his return to competitive action at the Australian Open armed with a fresh mindset – and a new serve. Djokovic, whose loaded resume includes six Australian Open titles won on the hard courts of Melbourne Park, has always served notice at the start of the season. This year, he’ll be serving a little differently thanks to hard work done in the pre-season with coaching additions Andre Agassi and the recently retired Radek Stepanek. “The service motion is something that we worked on,” said Djokovic. “It was obviously the part of my game...
Few are expecting much of him, and even fewer are predicting that he'll win yet another Australian Open title. A quarter-final appearance? He'll probably take it. Sound familiar? Roger Federer was that guy last year at the Australian Open. Federer came back after having missed six months away, with his final match in 2017 coming at Wimbledon. “It's a great draw because I'm in the draw. So for me I'm super pleased that I made it here, that I have an opportunity to win matches. How many rests to be seen. I'm cautious myself. So, yeah, clearly an underdog this time around,” Federer said before his first match at the 2017 Australian Open. Djokovic's past six months have followed a...
Daniil Medvedev is presented with the trophy after earning his first ATP World Tour title at the Sydney International. Video courtesy Tennis Australia. Visit sydneyinternational.com.au for more video. Playback not available in Australia. Photo Credit: Getty Images.