The ten likely winners of the Australian Open, which is also the first major grand slam of the year and the first of the two available hard-court Tournament at this level, will most likely emerge from a select set of players that have been in contention for majors over the years. It promises not to offer the scintillating surprise of 2021 when the unknown qualifier Emma Raducanu won the US open, the second hard court and the last major of the year. The Australian Open is underway with the defending champions both finishing last year as world number one and also champions at the US Open, male champion Jannik Sinner and Female Champion Aryna Sabalenka, are in top form with 2012 marking the last time both champions retained their titles at the same time in fact Djokovic won three in succession from 2011-2013 with Azarenka winning twice 2012-2013, her compatriot Sabalenka also emulated her in 2023-2024 and Djokovic`s 2019-2021 three peat success,being the most recent time it happened in isolation, both Italian Sinner and Sabalenka are the players to beat. This year`s winners will follow a consistent trend, from the female category, three of the best players have won the last three US Open titles Swiatek in 2022, Gauff in 2023 and Sabalenka in 2024, all occupy the top three seeds at this tournament and all three are still in contention, with Swiatek sweeping away Emma Raducanu in a battle of former US grand slam champions, with all three of them claiming five of the last six Hard court slam in the past three years. Sabalenka has three majors from the six available.
She joined four other champions in the open era to sweep the hard-court majors (Graf (1988,1989) Seles (1991,1992) Hingis (1997) and Kerber (2016), statistically all three are in contention for the number one world ranking after this tournament.It will be fascinating if the winner this year does not emerge from the trio with the other potential champions Navarro, Kasatkina, Rybakina, Svitolina, Keys, Andreeva, Bencic, Vekic and the resurgent Badosa, the possible winners with these five in particular 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina, Svitolina, Badosa, Bencic and Kasatkina offering the most formidable threat.
In the male category, there are similarities, three emerging champions Sinner and Alcaraz the two youngsters and the veteran and ten-time Australian Open winner Djokovic the favorites they won the last three US Open, which was started by Carlos Alcaraz, if he navigates a quarter finals defeat of Djokovic if he reaches this stage and proceeds to win the tournament then he will become the youngest ever winner of all the grand slams. If Novak does, then he extends the record of wins in Australia to eleven and sits alone as the most successful major winner with twenty-five, surpassing the joint record held with tennis great Margaret Court.
From the 32 seeds Australian hopeful Alex De Minaur and second seed Alexander Zverev are the best options to claim the title, Spanish Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is running out of steam and may not have enough in the tank to compete for the title, for Rune and 2023 ITF world junior champion, the red-hot Brazilian Joao Fonseca and even Monfils this may also be a difficult task, a step too high. Just like in the female category, five of the six past editions have been won by the trio with the Spanish duo Nadal (1) and Alcaraz (1) with Djokovic (2, 2023) and Sinner (2,2024) incidentally winning both hard court majors in the same year joining two others Wilander (1988) and Federer (2004,2006,2007) the Serb had also done so in 2011 and 2015. The three likely challengers from the available contenders with a slim chance are from America Shelton, Paul or Michelson and will have to emulate Thomas Johansson`s feat of 2002 when he won despite not reaching the quarter finals in 24 attempts, it has not reached that number but nevertheless it will be a herculean task, in that tournament, the top seeds were knocked out early and the draws were opening up, in this edition the favorites seemingly have a grip and an edge over the competition. The other contenders in both categories may still perform a mission impossible but according to the trends in victory this is going to be sensational if it happens. Monfils the partner of Svitolina is enjoying a reawakening, the Frenchman even won in Auckland this year becoming the oldest champion in the ATP tour since its inception in 1990 he was 38 years 132 days old, he will need all the experience and other factors in his favor to repeat this feat at the happy slam.
In recent memory the lowest seeded player to win this title was the great Roger Federer (he was the oldest man to win a title which was in Basel 2019 at 38 years 74days old, Monfils took this record when he won in Auckland) in 2017 when he recovered from injury and took down eternal rival and friend ninth seeded Nadal in a five-set thriller after ousting out other higher ranked players such as 10th seed Berdych (third round), fifth seed Nishikori (fourth round) and fourth seed compatriot Wawrinka(semifinals). In the female category Serena was unseeded and ranked 81 in the world in 2007 and eviscerated a strong field which included top seed and world number one Maria Sharapova in the finals. en route to the title decider, she had defeated fifth seed Petrova, eleventh seed Jankovic in the fourth round, sixteenth seed Peer in the quarter finals and tenth seed Vaidisova in the semifinals. The record books have also given us a trend that the male and female champion will most inevitably emerge from the notable names mentioned. Such extraordinary feats were done by those extraordinary players that the ranking did not reflect the true strength and their current form. Also, the top seeded players within the seeding system always win the title. The trio from both categories offer the most likely winner but life and sports provide results that is least expected at times, that is what makes it worth the effort. The Australian Open title is usually reserved for the top seeds the best player that is willing to make the necessary adjustments and hit the ground running, this edition will not disappoint.it will provide the ideal answers within a fortnight.
