.

The Djokovic Mystery

The more the tournament progresses, the more the contenders jump and the more Djokovic becomes favorite for a 22nd Grand Slam title which would allow him to equal Rafael Nadal's record.

But the Serb seems under the permanent threat of abandonment because of his left thigh.

“I knew that physically I would have ups and downs,” Djokovic conceded after his third-round three-set victory over Grigor Dimitrov, by far the toughest opponent on paper so far.

But the match where he seemed closest to the abyss was that of the second round against the Frenchman Enzo Couacaud (191st).

"I suffered a lot. There were several times when it was really bad," he said, adding with satisfaction that he "survived".

The second week begins for him on Monday with a duel with the Australian Alex De Minaur before a possible revenge against the young Dane Holger Rune who beat him in the final of the Masters 1000 in Paris last year.

Once again, the Djoker's course in Melbourne, which will once again become world No.1 in the event of a title on Sunday, is accompanied by drama.

Like in 2021 when he tore his abs in the third round before lifting the trophy.

Like last year when he made headlines without even playing, with his retention and then his expulsion from the country for lack of an anti-covid vaccine.

.

Depopulated array

World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz absent, the Australian Open men's draw lost in three rounds No.2 and defending champion Rafael Nadal, No.3 Casper Ruud, No.8 and outgoing double finalist Daniil Medvedev, as well as 2022 quarter-finalist Denis Shapovalov, and Félix Auger-Aliassime, author of an epic end to the season last year, who was eliminated in the round of 16.

The Polish Iga Swiatek, eliminated in the round of 16 of the Australian Open by the Kazakh Elena Rybakina, January 22, 2023 © ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP

So much so that we will find in the quarters the unexpected Jiri Lehecka (71st) who alone cleared three seeds (Coric, Norrie and Auger-Aliassime), as well as the surprising Sebastian Korda (31st) and Karen Khachanov (20th).

They can also join Ben Shelton (89th), JJ Wolf (67th) and Tommy Paul (35th).

Among the women, the world N.1 Iga Swiatek lost in 8th and the N.2 Ons Jabeur in the second round.

So much so that the Australian Open 2023 will go down in history as the first Grand Slam tournament of the Open era (since 1968), to be deprived in the quarter-finals of the first two seeds at the same time in the men and in women.

.

US Success

American players were numerous in the first round (14) and there were still four at the start of the second week, which had not happened since 2004 with Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, James Blake and Robby Ginepri.

But unlike 19 years ago, these are not the most anticipated.

American Sebastian Korda after his victory against Pole Hubert Hurkacz in the 8th round of the Australian Open, January 22, 2023 © ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP

No Taylor Fritz (9th and winner last year in Indian Wells before qualifying for the Masters) or Frances Tiafoe (17th and semi-finalist of the last US Open after beating Nadal).

It was Shelton, Wolf, Paul and Korda who invited themselves in 8th.

And they will be at least two in the quarters since Shelton and Wolf are opposed to join Korda.

In the women's draw, Jessica Pegula (3rd) leads the US representation in a showdown, but she was abandoned by Coco Gauff (7th) in the round of 16.

.

Nocturnal controversy

The marathon between Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis, which ended Friday morning at 4:06 a.m. after 5:45 a.m. of fighting, reignited the fuse: "Why are we playing at three in the morning?", Launched the Briton from his bench during a change of side, long before winning.

The match between Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis, completed at 4:06 a.m. after 5:45 a.m., at the Australian Open, January 20, 2023 © WILLIAM WEST / AFP

Night sessions at Grand Slam tournaments, where the men play best-of-five sets, regularly pose scheduling challenges, including at the US Open and Roland-Garros.

"It's crazy. No (other) sport does that," criticized American Jessica Pegula.

Discordant voice, Stefanos Tsitsipas assures that "tennis likes this kind of matches" long and which end at no time because they write the legend of this sport and that we "will remember it".

The Players Association created by Djokovic, the PTPA, assured that it would get involved in "the search for solutions to programming that puts the fans and the players first".

But Djokovic himself summed up the situation: "it's the broadcasters who decide".

© 2023 AFP