Australian Open Preview: Six storylines to watch in Melbourne

The Aussie summer is upon us.

So is the first major on the tennis calendar.

The proclaimed ‘Happy Slam’ returns as 256 singles players are set to compete at the 2023 Australian Open from Melbourne.

While legendary champions Serena Williams and Roger Federer are now in the sport’s rear-view mirror, new faces continue to emerge in the tennis stratosphere.

Novak Djokovic will chase for more history, Coco Gauff has her eye on a major trophy, and several Canadians are ready to contend and compete for glory.

Here are six storylines to follow Down Under:

Novak’s quest for 10 in Melbourne and 22 overall

It’s been the best hunting ground of his career.

Novak Djokovic is back in Melbourne. This time, he can stay.

Last year, Novak Djokovic’s attempt to enter Australia and compete in the Open turned into an international incident.

Since he is unvaccinated, Djokovic travelled to Melbourne on a medical exemption, only to be detained by the border force, held in an immigration detention hotel for several days, and eventually see his visa canceled by Minister for Immigration, Alex Hawke.

While the embarrassing saga no doubt left a bitter taste in his mouth, the 21-time major champion has returned to the site of the most successful tournament of his career.

Djokovic has been historically dominant in Australia, winning a record nine singles titles.

This season, he can become just the second man in tennis history alongside Rafael Nadal to win 10 or more major titles at a single event.

He would also tie Nadal with 22 singles slams with a championship win, something that is no doubt driving the hungry competitor.

“I want to be the best, I want to win the biggest tournaments in the world, there’s no secret about it,” said Djokovic ahead of the tournament.

“I know when I’m healthy, playing my best on this court, I have chances really against anybody.”

Djokovic’s record at the Australian Open is a remarkable 82-8 and he hasn’t lost a best of five match in Melbourne since 2018.

He’s also landed on the friendlier bottom half of the draw, avoiding dangerous players like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Though Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios and Paris Masters champion Holger Rune could certainly pose problems.

Meanwhile his top rival Rafael Nadal is the first seed of the tournament and begins an immensely challenging title defence – he opens against Jack Draper of Britain in the first round.

Felix ready for next step

“A lot of players want to win their first slam. Why not me?” Felix asks.

It’s a notable moment of inquisition yet self belief from the 22-year-old, who’s heavily featured in the new Netflix tennis documentary series entitled Break Point, filmed across the 2022 season.

Now, Felix is not only the top ranked Canadian in the field, but one of the circuit’s very best players.

The Montreal native heads into Melbourne seeded sixth, and it is well deserved after his remarkable fall season of tennis.

Auger-Aliassime won 23 of his final 29 matches post-US Open, notching notable victories over world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and Djokovic along the way.

He won three consecutive ATP singles titles on indoor hard courts in October, qualified for the end-of-year ATP Finals, and led Canada to its first ever Davis Cup title in the event’s history.

He also produced his best run in Australia last year, advancing to the quarterfinals and even holding a match point before falling in five sets to Daniil Medvedev.

An all-Canadian matchup is on tap in the opening round as Auger-Aliassime will play his good friend, Vasek Pospisil Monday morning.

Meantime, Denis Shapovalov is the 20th seed at the tournament – he squares off against Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic.

Shapovalov is also defending quarterfinals points from last season in Melbourne.

He tallied two singles wins in his first lead-up in Adelaide before falling in straight sets to Novak Djokovic.

Unseeded Leylah and Bianca keen to do damage

Both Bianca Andreescu and Leylah Annie Fernandez have achieved remarkable success on grand-slam stages.

Andreescu is the only Canadian singles player to win a major, capturing the US Open title in 2019, and Leylah produced magic of her own at Flushing Meadows only two years later when she reached the final.

Coming into this slam, both are now unseeded for a change, which could pose problems for other women’s players in the draw.

Fernandez, ranked 39th, won a pair of matches in Auckland to kick off her 2023 before falling in the quarterfinals and meets veteran Alize Cornet of France in an intriguing first round encounter.

Bianca Andreescu is back in Australia for the first time in two years and has looked more than eager to take in the sites, sounds, and pets.

Andreescu has a stern test in her opening round against 26th seed Marie Bouzkova of Czech Republic, an exciting contrast of styles.

Bianca is an aggressive baseliner with variety; Bouzkova is a dogged counterpuncher who excels with movement and defence.

While not always quantifiable, momentum can often play a big role in tennis.

If Andreescu and Fernandez withstand early challenges, a deeper run in Melbourne may await.

Meanwhile, 32-year-old Rebecca Marino is back in the main draw and opens against Lin Zhu of China.

Toronto’s Katherine Sebov came through qualifying, earning a spot in a grand slam main draw for the first time in her career.

She faces world No. 4 Caroline Garcia in the first round.

Ottawa’s Gaby Dabrowski is in the doubles field alongside partner Giuliana Olmos of Mexico.

The successful pairing is seeded third at the event.

Is Iga bound for greatness?

Iga Swiatek remains the class of the women’s tour, and the most dominant world No. 1 the circuit has seen since Serena Williams.

The soft-spoken Polish superstar enters the Melbourne heat after a blistering 2022.

She won two of the four majors, capturing a second French Open and her maiden US Open crown, produced a mid-season 37-match winning streak, and took home eight singles trophies in all.

The dominant season has left her 5,845 ranking points clear of world number two, Ons Jabeur, and the odds-on favourite to win the title Down Under.

It’s hard to find a weakness in Swiatek’s game and skillset.

She possesses a powerful baseline game with one of the heaviest forehands on tour, her court coverage is sublime, and her return-of-serve is a hidden weapon that leaves opponents consistently under duress.

Iga reached the semifinals of Australia last year before falling to a determined Danielle Collins.

It will take an otherworldly effort from a fearless and in form player to stop her in tracks.

First-Time Slam Seekers Across Women’s Field

There is a wealth of WTA talent hungry to win a first major.

Olympic gold medallist and Switzerland native Belinda Bencic arrives in Melbourne playing her best brand of tennis.

The 25-year-old opened her 2023 with a victory at the Adelaide International, and also closed out 2022 by helping lead Switzerland to a victory at the Billie Jean King Cup.

Bencic is now back inside the top 10 of the rankings for the first time since September of 2020.

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka closed out last year as runner-up at the WTA Finals and has opened the calendar year with the 11th singles title of her career (also a title in Adelaide).

Sabalenka has reached the semifinals of a major on three separate occasions.

Americans Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff are two fast rising stars with aspirations for big titles.

Pegula is coming off her first career victory over world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and helped lead the U.S. to a title at the inaugural United Cup team event.

Gauff won the ASB Classic in Auckland to begin her the season, the third singles title of her young career, and the teenager has already reached a major final.

Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia also comes to Melbourne in the form of her life.

She closed out 2022 by winning the WTA Finals and returned to the top 5 of the rankings for the first time since September of 2018.

Garcia is a two-time slam winner in doubles and reached the semifinals of the US Open last year.

Big Names Absent

Unfortunately, the first major tournament of the season has faced a rash of withdrawals amongst some of the headline names.

Current world no. 1 and US Open winner Carlos Alcaraz suffered a right leg injury in his training and pulled out of the event a week ago.

Four-time major champion Naomi Osaka, who had been largely absent from the tour following the US Open, announced she is pregnant and will be off the tour for the season – she’s planning a return to Australia in 2024.

42-year-old ageless wonder and seven-time slam winner Venus Williams also pulled out of Melbourne just days after she notched her first WTA match win in over a year.

Last year’s champion Ash Barty of course is now retired and unable to defend her title.

Fellow Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, who defeated Serena Williams in the US Open on the way to a quarterfinals run has also pulled out of the tournament due to injury.

Spain’s Paula Badosa, ranked as high as #2 last season, also pulled the plug on her Aussie Open campaign due to an abductor injury.

Tennis carries on in 2023 with a significant void left by two of the greatest champions in the sport’s history – Serena Williams and Roger Federer.

The two larger than life global sporting icons are both retired… as of now.