Two Spaniards, a returning Serb, and everyone else: the 2023 men’s singles tennis season
On 16 January, the Australian Open kickstarted the 2023 season. Current men’s singles champion Rafael Nadal has been struggling with injuries and form, but the biggest story going into the tournament is Novak Djokovic’s return after the ‘Novax Djokovic’ saga last year, as his refusal to get vaccinated saw him dramatically deported from the country. What happens Down Under will set the tone for an unusually open season.
Djokovic comes into this tournament very positively. At the time of writing, he has reached the semi-finals of the Adelaide Open and despite being world number five, is the bookies’ favourites to take the title. 2022 was a relatively barren year for the Serb, with only one Grand Slam title. He is one away from equalling Nadal’s record 22 victories and one would imagine he is motivated to draw level with his long-term rival. He has already won a staggering nine Australian Open titles in his career.
Nadal himself currently sits second in the ATP rankings. However, he has lost six out of seven games since tearing his abdomen at last year’s US Open, including losses to Britain’s Cameron Norrie and Australia’s own Alex de Minaur in the United Cup this month. Despite this, everyone knows how genuinely unbelievable Nadal’s mental fortitude is, so one would be foolish to dismiss his chances.
Cameron Norrie is Britain’s greatest hope of success and he currently sits at world number fourteen. Though he may be best on clay, Norrie has undoubtedly improved on hard courts and will be looking to improve on his third round exit in this competition last year. Jack Draper has also been making waves on the tour recently, rapidly rising to 43 in the world and he might just be our country’s next Grand Slam winner. Meanwhile, national icon Andy Murray seems to have plateaued in performance following his return from his two hip surgeries and is unlikely to challenge, but should provide entertaining grit in the first few rounds. And finally on the British scene is Dan Evans, who comes into the tournament after an unbeaten ‘Battle of the Brits’ tournament. Given a friendly draw, Evans could push for the quarter-finals.
There is plenty of hope for the Aussies themselves. 23 year-old Alex de Minaur has been flirting with the top twenty for a couple of years now and is in excellent form. He is hugely popular in his home country thanks to his unique resilience on court. In contrast, it is unknown how seriously Nick Kyrgios will take this tournament. The Wimbledon finalist has reached a relatively lofty 22 in the world considering how little he plays on tour. But with a break behind him and a raucous home crowd cheering him on, he could be cooking up a storm once more.
Somehow, it has taken this long to mention the number one seed, Carlos Alcaraz. The 19 year-old Spaniard is the current US Open champion and will surely improve on his third round exit in the Australian Open in 2022. When he is on top form, no player on tour can stop him (unless perhaps you’re Djokovic or Nadal). 2023 could see Alcaraz crowned the new superhuman force in the sport after the big three of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
Elsewhere, Alexander Zverev is fit again following his horrible ankle injury and could pose a threat. A dangerous group has emerged within the top ten of extremely capable hard court players in search of a maiden Grand Slam; Felix Auger-Aliassime, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Taylor Fritz all have the form and pedigree to potentially go all the way, and each will feel they are owed a Grand Slam following years of good results. Moreover, Daniil Medvedev is always a dangerous customer and currently sits at seventh in the world. An Australian Open title would complement his 2021 US Open trophy excellently.
As ever, there are plenty of contenders waiting in the wings to spring a surprise. Denmark’s world number eleven, Holger Rune, may not be the most popular name on the tour but his fiery demeanour has brought plenty of success, so he could be a name to watch out for. Young American Jenson Brooksby is another player who could have a big tournament. The world number 48 is highly rated by many players on the tour but has flattered to deceive in the Grand Slams in his young career to date. Now is the time he could really step up. And finally at 52 in the world, Gael Monfils is a safe bet for theatrical tennis; he’ll be making the most of the few tournaments he has left at 36 years old.
It seems that with every new tennis season, the expectation is that we will finally leave the years of the big three behind. Though Nadal may finally succumb to his body’s limits, vintage Djokovic will undoubtedly emerge at times. However, expect to see at least one new Grand Slam winner sandwiched between a Djokovic and Alcaraz duopoly. We may even see a British success, though it appears Norrie has reached his peak and it may be a few more years before Draper can really challenge.
