Big tennis is finally ready for its debut in 2021. After the postponement of the opening of the season and after a few preparatory tournaments, here is the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, on the hard Melbourne.
The tests carried out on the players, already in Australia for two weeks under very strict local regulations, are all negative. They can therefore begin to compete: from February 8 to 21, space for the big matches that will award the coveted title.
Two, in the men’s category, are the compulsory favorites: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, number one and two in the ATP ranking. If doubts remain about the Spaniard as to the condition of his back – and his ATP Cup forfeit is confirmation of that – the Serbian seems ready to immediately say the word about him.
They are two of the four leaders of the past decade, while the other two – Roger Federer and Andy Murray – are still in the pits and will not be able to assert themselves. But foreigners are not lacking because the new generation is already a reality.
We must first of all pay attention to Dominic Thiem, who after winning his first Grand Slam, does not want to stop, as well as Daniil Medvedev who would prefer to break the taboos.
Then there are Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas to follow suit. Mats Wilander has claimed that Roger Federer is now more likely to win a Grand Slam than Serena Williams.
And the Swedish legend said the American superstar “messed up” her best chance at winning her 24th title in the Wimbledon final in 2018 when she had Meghan Markle in the crowd.
Wilander on Roger Federer
But Eurosport analyst Mats Wilander said: “Serena certainly made it to the final, but she wasn’t close. She’s not like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic, there is a big difference.
Roger is even more dangerous. She has not served well for three years. It is the most dominant weapon in the history of tennis. It’s not even the best serve on tour anymore and that’s a big deal because it would be like taking Nadal’s forehand or Djokovic’s backhand away from them.
The serve must return for her to have a chance of winning. Without that, I can’t imagine him playing against these young players and crushing them physically and then turning them into a mental one on the big points. “Markle and Kate Middleton were on center court to watch Williams play her first Grand Slam final as a mother against Angelique Kerber in 2018.
“It was his chance,” Wilander said. “It was unusual. I think she messed up up there. She had a lot of people in the stands who shouldn’t have been there.
There was a group of famous people. Looks like she was thinking, I’m going to win 24, 26, 27. ”
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