Between doubts, controversies and expectations, we are finally there: it’s time for the Australian Open, the first slam of 2021. An indispensable event for all tennis fans, a tournament that has written indelible pages in the history of this sport.
Also in the recent past: think of the final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in 2017, in which the two were reborn from nothing and can give a breathtaking game that the Swiss won.
That he won’t be in Melbourne for the first time this year, unlike the Spaniard. To better prepare for this event, here are a number of gadgets related to the Australian Open. The big absentee in this edition of the Australian Open will, as mentioned, be Roger Federer.
The Swiss champions are at home in Melbourne: King Roger has six wins on the Australian hard court. That he won the last slam, the twentieth, directly in Australia: Here is the t-shirt to celebrate him.
I’m waiting to see him back on the pitch. Rafael Nadal may still have a grand slam before he retires, but Roger Federer doesn’t, says Eurosport tennis reporter Fernando Gomez. Federer and Nadal are currently at the top of the list with 20 individual Grand Slam titles.
However, Federer is five years older than his old rival and is on the way back from two knee surgeries in 2020.
Gomez on Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
“The season may have more similarities than we think with 2020.
I know that 2021 will not be the year of change either, “said Fernando Gomez.” We will be the irregular ones [Daniil] See Medvedev where he’ll find the peak of his form, and if that gives him a Grand Slam, I don’t expect anything special from the rest.
I want Roger Federer to be able to say goodbye on conditions when this is his last year that he can compete, although it will be very difficult to see him win a Grand Slam. If I look at the rankings beyond the top 10, I would love to see Alex de Minaur, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz make the leap.
These are the ones I would pay more attention to. “Gomez also believes Rafael Nadal only has a year or two left at the helm of the sport, but he reckons he will be more likely to contribute to his major titles.
“It could be Rafa Nadal’s last or penultimate big season in which he can win another Grand Slam title,” added the Spaniard.
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