2024-01-08 05:30:00
MELBOURNE. Like every year, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year starts with the Australian Open in January. The tournament, which takes place in Melbourne, will take place from January 14th to 28th. The tournament favorite is once again the Serbian Novak Djokovic.
The first qualifying round for the Australian Open 2024 starts today, Monday, January 8th, giving 16 players the opportunity to get a place in the main draw. A total of 128 players are taking part, led by the Serbian record winner Novak Djokovic, who is currently leading the world rankings and is striving to defend his title in Melbourne.
In addition to him, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner are also represented in Australia, all of whom have a legitimate chance of winning the title. The final takes place on June 28th, the surface is, as always, the hard court.
Ofner and Thiem in the main field
The extended circle of favorites includes last year’s finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hong Kong winner Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverezv. Brisbane winner Grigor Dimitrov and local hero Alex de Minaur are also in impressive form. From an Austrian perspective, one can be excited about the in-form Sebastian Ofner and Grand Slam winner Dominic Thiem. The latter slipped into the main draw of the tournament thanks to a cancellation by the American Reilly Opelka.
In addition to de Minaur, the local heroes include Jordan Thompson, doubles specialist Max Purcell, wildcarder Jason Kubler and Thanasi Kokkinakis among the Australians who should be kept an eye on in Melbourne.
Prominent failures
Not represented is crowd favorite Nick Kyrgios, who, like Opelka, Stricker and Rafael Nadal, is out due to injury. The latter only announced his retirement yesterday, Sunday, as he is suffering from a muscle injury following his quarter-final defeat in Brisbane and has returned to Spain for further examinations.
The entire field of participants at a glance:
The first 32 players are seeded, the remaining places are determined by the winners of the qualification.
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