Australian Open expert picks — With Novak Djokovic out, who will win? Who could surprise?
It’s been a wild ride to the start of this year’s Australian Open, but on Monday the tournament will officially begin. With Sunday’s court decision upholding the decision that Novak Djokovic is to be deported and will not play, the drama over his visa cancellation is over — but that leaves other questions.
Who will win on the men’s side now? Will world No. 1 Ash Barty capture her first Australian Open title in front of her home crowd? Who could surprise us all? Our experts weigh in.
With Djokovic out, who will win the men’s singles title?
Bill Connelly: Daniil Medvedev is good enough on hard courts at this point that it was already a Djokovic vs. Medvedev vs. the Field situation, or close to it. While Djokovic’s absence certainly improves the odds for players like Alexander Zverev, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz — all originally on Djokovic’s side of the draw — Medvedev is very much the favorite now.
Tom Hamilton: Medvedev has shut himself off from all the outside noise and carried his US Open-winning form over to this year’s ATP Cup. If he can get past potential tricky meetings with Nick Kyrgios early on (if he tests negative for COVID), and then Ugo Humbert in the third round, then he will have the momentum to go all the way.
Aishwarya Kumar: I’m going back and forth between Zverev and Medvedev, but I’m going to say Zverev only because when it comes to big stages and opponents who are seeded higher, Zverev somehow finds it in him to up his game. We saw that at the US Open when he pushed Djokovic to a five-setter and looked like he was going to win it at several points during the match. Then, he finished 2021 on a high, beating Djokovic and Medvedev to win the ATP Finals trophy. Since the Tokyo Olympics, which he won, Zverev has won 32 out of the 36 matches he’s played — that’s a pretty darn good record.
D’Arcy Maine: There are some potential early tests against Kyrgios and Humbert, but Medvedev enters the tournament brimming with confidence and…
Source : espn
