Bill Simons
RED HOT REDHEAD: The Italian redhead Jannik Sinner has been red hot. Since Wimbledon he’s been on fire. The 23-year-old is clearly the best player in the game. He won both hard court Slams last year, the US and Aussie Opens, and he was dominant in the ATP Championships and the Davis Cup. But will he become the first man since Novak Djokovic to defend his title?
NAUGHTY NICK: We’d say that even more than Ilie Nastase, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Andre Agassi, Nick Kyrgios loves to stir up the tennis milkshake. He just can’t help himself – ask Djokovic, Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt or his son Cruz or Jannik Sinner, whom he’s been obsessively attacking for months. (The Italian does date Nick’s ex-girlfriend, Russian Anna Kalinskaya.) Or check in with anyone who’s tried to subdue the charismatic showman on Aussie Open’s intimate John Cain Arena, his home court.
But the 2022 Aussie Open doubles titlist and Wimbledon finalist may not even be able to play. He’s been off the circuit for two years with a devastating wrist injury and he had to pull out of the Brisbane warm-up.
YOU GOTTA LOVE THAT GOAT: Djokovic is the best player in history. And, short of Rafa’s 14 French Open crowns, no man has so dominated a Slam. He’s won ten times Down Under, but as the No. 7 seed, he could face a daunting draw. Can the Serb, who just lost to Reilly Opelka in Brisbane, defy Father Time and do what Serena couldn’t do – surpass Margaret Court’s longstanding mark of 24 singles wins? Or is it too late, and will we be left saying that the master craftsman is just a 38-year-old GOAT? Then again, nobody can knock that.
SABS IS FABS: Sabs (aka Aryna Sabalenka) has been fab at the AO. Now No. 1 in the world, last year she beat China’s Zheng Qinwen to take her second Melbourne title in a row. Can the fun-loving Belarusian powerhouse become the first woman since Martina Hingis, from 1997-1999, to win the AO three times in a row?
FRITZ BLITZ? Taylor Fritz, 27, just keeps getting better. The US Open finalist joined with Coco Gauff to again lead America to the United Cup title. Last year he reached the AO quarters. Can the No. 4 seed go farther this year – or even win?
COCO POPS: Gads, this is already Coco Gauff’s sixth appearance in Melbourne. Last year the 20-year-old reached the semis. Recently the 2023 US Open champ has been on a tear. Having switched from her former coach, Brad Gilbert, to Matt Daly, her forehand has stepped up and her serve has skirted disaster, except when she double faulted 21 times in a Beijing match. She’s been just spectacular. In recent months the No. 3 in the world, more aggressive than ever, has twice beaten her nemesis, Iga Swiatek, and she grabbed the China Open and WTA Championships (where she won $4.3 million). Plus, she was the star of the United Cup with Fritz. Now, will she win another cup – the AO’s coveted Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup?
RED, WHITE AND BLUE ANEW? In 2020, Sofia Kenin was the last American woman to win the AO. Andre Agassi, in 2003, was the last American man to prevail. Jennifer Brady and Danielle Collins made the finals in 2021 and in 2022, and in 2023 Tommy Paul made a breathtaking run to the semis. Aside from Fritz or Gauff, can another American make a deep run into the second week? For the first time since 1997, the US has five players in the top 25: No. 4 Fritz, No. 12 Paul, No. 15 Frances Tiafoe, No. 21 Ben Shelton, and No. 22 Seb Korda. Plus, Californian Alex Michelsen, No. 41, is the youngest player in the top 50, and a longshot, as is 6’ 11” Reilly Opelka, who’s making a giant comeback.
And what about No. 8, Emma Navarro, the US Open semifinalist? And can US Open finalist Jessica Pegula do better down under than her Buffalo Bills in upstate New York? Might the two-time semifinalist Madison Keys, who recently was married Madison Keys, continue to ride that wave of joy and celebrate a bunch of Melbourne wins? And don’t forget about No. 11 seed Danielle Collins who had insisted that 2024 would be her last year. But she had a problem. The Miami and Charleston champ was just playing too well to quit, so she didn’t.
LURKING CONTENDERS: Who’s ready to step up and grab glory? World No. 2 and 2020 French Open finalist Alexander Zverev is the best active player to never win a Slam. He reached the AO semis in 2020 and 2024.
No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz has won four Slams, hasn’t soared recently and has never lifted the Aussie trophy. The 21-year year-old fell in the quarters last year, but would love to become the ninth and youngest man ever to complete the career Grand Slam. The others to do it were the Big 3 and Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Agassi.)
Russian Daniil Medvedev was a set away from the title in 2022 and 2024, but of late has been flatlining. And what about Alex de Minaur? No Aussie man has won in Melbourne since Mark Edmondson 49 years ago. But the No. 8 seed is playing good ball and would love to live a down-under fairytale like Ash Barty did in 2022.
Can five-time Slam winner Iga Swiatek, who lost in the third round last year and has never reached an AO final, lift the trophy?
Don’t be surprised if a cadre of young Russian women rumble and Qinwen Zheng again surges. But can Naomi Osaka, who just broke up with her boyfriend Cordae after six years, break through? Ranked No. 50, she’s been struggling coming back to the tour after giving birth. The two-time Aussie winner just reached the final in Auckland but pulled out with an abdominal injury. But she’s prevailed in only two Aussie Open matches since she won the tourney in 2021. Naomi’s been hinting that if she doesn’t start excelling, she might just hang up her Nike GP Challenge 1 sneakers.
CALM OR CRISIS? The Aussie Open is the Happy Slam, right? Yet the feel-good tourney often gets caught up with issues: think heat waves, windstorms, the Margaret Court Arena naming controversy, Covid, rowdy demonstrations, and way too late night matches. This year, two top players – Sinner and Swiatek – have drug controversies hanging over their heads. And the suspension of Elena Rybakina’s former coach, Stefano Vukov, has drawn much speculation. Will this year’s Happy Slam be remembered for mellow calm or turbulent crisis?
Stay tuned.
