Australian Open 2023 men's singles draw: Biggest winner and loser ft. Rafael Nadal
The much-awaited draw for the 2023 Australian Open is out and it is safe to say that tennis fans have a wonderful two weeks ahead of them. Despite having lost World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz to injury, the men's singles line-up features some of the biggest names in the business, including the likes of defending champion Rafael Nadal, nine-time winner Novak Djokovic, former finalists Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev, and more.
However, the draw hasn't been equally kind to all players, favoring some and making life exceedingly difficult for others. While the seeded players be lucky enough to not face one another in the first couple of rounds, the second week of proceedings will start seeing the big guns lock horns in blockbuster clashes.
Without further ado, here is the biggest winner and loser from the men's singles draw of the 2023 Australian Open:
Defending champion Rafael Nadal is the biggest loser of the Australian Open men's singles draw without question
Last year, Rafael Nadal won the Australian Open men's singles title in brilliant fashion, defeating Daniil Medvedev in a comeback win that saw the Spaniard overturn a two-set deficit. This time around, however, the defending champion has a rather uphill task ahead of him.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion takes on rising British sensation Jack Draper in the very first round, who is already considered one of the youngsters on tour with the most potential. While Draper may not be able to beat Nadal in a five-setter just yet, it is one of the hardest first-round clashes the Mallorcan could have drawn.
Nadal’s Australian Open Draw 🇦🇺
R1: Draper
R2: Nakashima/McDonald
R3: Nishioka/Munar
R4: Tiafoe/Khachanov
QF: Medvedev/Hurkacz
SF: Tsitsipas/FAA/Sinner
F: Djokovic/Ruud/Rublev https://t.co/2SOv1fNQtZ
Either Brandon Nakashima or Mackenzie McDonald will be the opponent in the second round, neither of whom will be cakewalks for the 36-year-old. Only the third round, where Nadal could most likely face Jaume Munar or Yoshihito Nishioka promises to be an easy match-up, after which every encounter becomes increasingly difficult.
Frances Tiafoe, who beat Nadal at the same stage in the US Open last year, is expected to face him again in the fourth round, while former World No. 1 and last year's finalist Medvedev is most likely to take him on in the quarterfinals.
R3 is the only round that I see potentially being comfy for Nadal (if he gets there). Don’t forget R2 is against potentially Brandon Nakashima (Next Gen Finals Champ). We know that Americans with strong 2-handed backhands have had some recent success against Nadal on hard courts. twitter.com/tennispodcast/…
Either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Felix Auger-Aliassime will square off against Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open, with Jannik Sinner being the third-favorite.
The summit clash, meanwhile, is a dream match-up between Nadal and Novak Djokovic, which if it comes to fruition, will be their first clash on tour since the quarterfinals of the 2022 French Open and a repeat of the 2019 Australian Open final.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has been blessed with a rather kind draw at the 2023 Australian Open
In direct contrast to Rafael Nadal, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas has a rather easy draw at the 2023 Australian Open. The Greek takes on Quentin Halys in the first round and despite the Frenchman's recent form, Tsitsipas should have no problems getting into the second round with ease.
Rinky Hijikata is the likely second-round opponent, while Botic van de Zandschulp is the favorite to face the World No. 4 in the third round. From there on, however, things get harder for Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Likely clashes with 15th seed Jannik Sinner and sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime await him in the fourth round and quarterfinals respectively, while Nadal (Daniil Medvedev, in his absence) is primed to face him in the semifinals. Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, is the immense favorite to reach the final from the bottom half of the draw.
Tsitsipas Australian Open
1R: Halys
2R: Hijjkata
3R: Van de Zandschulp
4R: Sinner
QF: FAA
SF: Nadal
F: Djokovic
Honorable mention: Novak Djokovic has a very doable draw at the 2023 Australian Open but it could get very interesting
On his return to the Australian Open after last year's absence, Novak Djokovic has gotten himself a very interesting draw in 2023. With the first round set against Roberto Carballes Baena, the 21-time Grand Slam champion will start proceedings on the slower side of things.
Hugo Dellien is the expected second-round opponent while the unpredictable Grigor Dimitrov (Aslan Karatsev in his absence) is likely to face the Serb in the third round. Both Pablo Carreno Busta and Alex de Minaur are the main favorites to reach the fourth round, both of whom will test the former World No. 1 with their grinding style of play.
The quarterfinal clash, meanwhile, is expected to be between Djokovic and one of Andrey Rublev, Nick Kyrgios and Holger Rune -- all three of whom are capable of beating the World No. 5 on their prime day. Whether they may be able to do it in five sets remains a mystery, but it is no easy encounter regardless.
#Djokovic path to F:
1R: Carballes Baena
2R: Dellien/Q
3R: Dimitrov
4R: De Minaur/Carreno Busta
QF: Rublev/Kyrgios/Rune
SF: Ruud/Fritz
The semifinal opponent is a toss up between Taylor Fritz, Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud, meaning the 35-year-old will have to be at his imperial best. The final, on the other hand, could be against familiar foe Rafael Nadal (Stefanos Tsitsipas or Daniil Medvedev in his absence), leaving tennis fans around the world waiting with bated breath.
A title run in Melbourne this January will see Novak Djokovic lift his 10th title at the event, making him only the second man after Nadal (14 titles at Roland Garros) to win 10 titles or more at the same Grand Slam.