The wait was long, but the 2021 edition of the Australian Open is finally upon us after the postponement due to the health emergency (in fact, they were expected in the second half of January, but the athletes had to undergo preventive quarantine), which unfortunately it still limits many aspects of our life without making exceptions for sport.
The Melbourne Park cement awaits the start scheduled for Monday 8 February to stage the show of the first Grand Slam of the tennis season. It starts from last year’s Novak Djoković triumph over Dominic Thiem after almost 4 hours of play (6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4), eighth success in Australia for the Serbian at the top to the roll of honor of the men’s tournament.
If for women the predictions are as always very difficult and balance reigns supreme, the Australian Open winning odds do not reserve any particular surprises for now, except for one that cannot be defined as such: the absence of Roger Federer due to injury (6 wins in the tournament for the Swiss).
At the top of the forecasts we naturally find Djoković with an altitude of 2.20 and immediately behind, but not very close, the defeated, the Austrian Thiem at 5.50, who certainly can’t wait to try, considering the hard time he gave at most rated champion in the past edition.
Rafael Nadal is in third place with 6.00, alongside him the other likely protagonist Daniil Medvedev. The Spaniard won in Australia in 2009 against Federer, the only Grand Slam not repeated in his 20 victories (2 Wimbledon, 4 Us Open and 13 Roland Garros).
According to Taro Daniel, the reason Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are such difficult opponents is that they hit the ball in a very unique way. The Japanese player also believes that the two legends have an aura around them that is rare to find among the players on the tour.
Taro Daniel on the Big 3
« They (Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal) have a special quality to their ball, » Taro Daniel said. « They also have a presence that not many other players have. I really enjoyed feeling the speed and the quality of their ball.
Especially Djokovic’s backhand down the line really stretches like crazy. » One member of the Big 3 that Daniel has not played against yet is Roger Federer. The 27-year-old revealed that playing Federer at least once before the Swiss retires is something that he desperately wants to tick off. « Yes, Roger Federer is on my bucket list, » Daniel responded when asked about playing the 39-year-old.
