Rule changes

The 107th Australian Open draw will be the first story to feature a tie-break in the fifth set. Previously, in order to win the final game, it was necessary to take the opponent's serve and make a difference in the two games. However, in 2019, this multi-year rule will be abolished. From this point on, when the score is 6: 6 in the decisive set, tennis players will hold a shortened game of up to ten points (a super tie-break). The organizers believe that it will help in some cases to significantly reduce the time of the fights, thereby reducing the burden on athletes.

However, this innovation was met ambiguously. If the current first racket of the world Novak Djokovic supported this initiative, stating that the athletes are “tired of the marathons in the fifth set,” then the German Alexander Zverev criticized the organizers of the Australian Open.

“I don’t really like these changes, because the matches that end with the conditional score of 12:10 in the fifth set are something special. Such games are always more energy-intensive, but I like them, ”The West Australian quotes Zverev.

It is noteworthy that from 2019 on each of the four Grand Slam tournaments will be different format of the fifth installment. So, at the US Open, athletes will identify the winner in a standard tiebreak up to seven points, at Wimbledon - up to 12, and the “Rolan Garros” will remain the same scheme, according to which the holding of a shortened game is not provided.

“The organizers of the Grand Slam tournaments cannot come to a common denominator, but on the other hand, now each tournament will be different from the other. We will have to adapt. I do not know if it will be easier or harder to play. In the end, you do not fight with yourself - on the other side of the court there is a rival, and it is he who must be beaten. The conditions are equal for everyone, so it does not matter how many points you need to win in a tiebreaker, ”said Russian Karen Khachanov to Sport360.

In addition to the introduction of a super tie-break, the tournament organizers met the representatives of the stronger sex. Thus, for the first time in history, men will be able to take a 10-minute break due to the heat. And this can be done after the third set.

Last tournament in career

Unfortunately, for some tennis players the Australian Open - 2019 may be the last in his career. In particular, we are talking about Maria Sharapova. The five-time Grand Slam winner missed the rest of the previous season due to injury, which resulted in information that she could leave the sport at the end of this competitive year.

Confirmation of these concerns was the unfortunate start of the current season. Maria reached the quarterfinals at the tournament in Shenzhen, but was forced to abandon the continuation of the fight due to injury. It is possible that health problems may adversely affect the prospects for Sharapova and in Australia. In the first round, she will meet with the 132nd racket of the world Harriet Dart from the UK, which on paper does not look like a serious test for her. But already in the third round she can cross the rackets with the current winner of the tournament - the Danish Caroline Wozniacki.

But if Sharapova’s possible departure from the sport is generally based on the hints of her agent Max Eisenbad, then Andy Murray made it clear that he plans to end his career before the end of the year. The reason for this was a severe thigh injury that continues to bother the British. A few days before the start of the Australian Open, he held a press conference at which he announced that this tournament could be his last.

“I hope I can reach Wimbledon because I would like to end my career there. But I'm not sure that I will succeed, ”said Murray.

In light of Andy’s poor form, which is due to a long break in tournament practice and incessant pain, his prospects in Melbourne seem to be very vague. Already in the first round, Murray will meet with a serious opponent - Roberto Bautista-Agut. There is no doubt that the 22nd seeded tournament will be over-motivated to redeem for last year’s fiasco, when he lost in the opening round. In addition, the Spaniard may for the first time in his career to beat the British. Previously, all three meetings ended in favor of the double Olympic champion.

Epidemic injury

On the eve of the Australian Open, a real epidemic of injuries broke out, which almost left a number of prominent athletes behind. In addition to Sharapova, two more representatives of the female elite were forced to early terminate their performances at competitions preceding the Australian Open. So, the 18th racket of the planet Garbine Muguruza refused to go to the doubles mixed match against the French in the Hopman Cup, and the British Johanna Comte was forced to withdraw from the qualifying match in Sydney. By the way, in it she lost to Russian Ekaterina Aleksandrova.

Also leaves much to be desired, and the state of the first racket of the world Simone Halep. In October 2018, the Romanian suffered a back injury, after which she was forced to miss the rest of the season. She returned to the court at a tournament in Sydney, but in the first match in two games she lost to Ashley Barty.

Men have serious concerns about the state of Alexander Zverev. The winner of the ATP Final tournament was forced to withdraw from the Adelaide exhibition competition due to a hamstring injury. The German was to meet with the Croat Boric Choric, but did not risk his health on the eve of the Australian Open.

At the same time in Australia, Juan Martin del Potro will definitely not perform. In October, a famous Argentinean was injured in a tournament in Shanghai and missed the rest of the season. Subsequently, he was diagnosed with a hamstring fracture, and the recovery time was estimated at 4 to 5 months. Also miss the competition Frenchman Richard Gasquet and American Coco Vandevege.

100th title for Federer and Djokovic rivalry with Nadal

For a 37-year-old Swiss tennis player, the upcoming tournament can be special. First, Federer comes to him in the status of the winner of the last two draws of the Australian Open. In the event that Roger can defend his title, he will become the second tennis player in the history of the Open Era, who managed to become the best in Australia for three years in a row. Such an achievement can only boast of a Serb Novak Djokovic, who excelled in Melbourne in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

No less important is that a victory at the Australian Open could be a jubilee, one hundredth career tournament won for Federer. Thus, the Swiss will be able to come close to the most titled tennis player in the men's singles in history - Jimmy Connors. At the moment, the American asset has 109 victories in competitions, eight of them have been won in Grand Slam tournaments.

By the way, the tournament’s potential triumph is favored by the tournament grid. He will start his way to the trophy with a match against Denis Istomin, and a meeting with an opponent from the top 10 ATP rankings threatens him at least in the quarter-finals. They can be either a Russian Karen Khachanov or a Croat Marin Cilic.

In addition to the fight for the main trophy, the Australian Open will decide the fate of the championship in the ATP ranking. At the moment, Djokovic is holding her, but in a certain scenario, he can be ahead of Rafael Nadal. True, this will be quite difficult. To do this, the Spaniard must win the tournament and hope that Novak will not be able to go beyond the fourth round. By the way, there are certain prerequisites for this. Already in the second round, a Serb runs the risk of facing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and he will try to block Kei Nisikori from reaching the quarterfinal.

The fight for the title of the first racket of the world and betting on Williams

For women, the title of the best tennis player on the planet is even more fierce. On the eve of the Australian Open 11 athletes immediately have a chance to complete the tournament at the head of the WTA ranking. In addition to Khalep, Sloane Stevens, Naomi Osaka, Angelica Kerber, Petr Kvitova, Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens, Karolina Plishkova, Karolina Wozniacki, Arina Sobolenko and Daria Kasatkina can climb to the top.

Of course, one of the main conditions is the unfortunate performance of Halep, to which, by the way, its current state quite has. Least of all the chances of leadership from Kasatkina and Wozniacki. To become the first racket of the planet, they need to hope that Simon will withdraw from the competition before entering the court in the 1st round match with Kaya Kanepi, and after that - to win the tournament by himself. Such a disposition is applicable to Sobolenko, but with the only exception that she will have enough defeats and Romanians in the starting meeting.

A bit more optimistic are the chances of Bertens and Pliscova, who, in the case of Halep’s fiasco, reach the final. Kerber and Kvitova will qualify for the semifinals of the competition, and Stevens and Osaka will qualify for the honorary title even after getting into the quarter finals.

In this case, among the top favorites includes Serena Williams. Last season, she returned to the court after the birth of her child and in the end of the season she made it clear that she was not going to give up. The American reached the Wimbledon and US Open finals, in which she lost to Kerber and Osaka, respectively. But even these defeats do not give rise to doubt that she is still able to add a couple of victories in Grand Slam tournaments to her track record.

This is not in doubt and her compatriot Chris Evert, who considers Serena one of the main contenders for victory in the Australian Open.

“I noticed that Serena now looks slimmer than last year, she is gaining shape. Probably, the rival is scared and they think: “God, last year she was ready for 60 - 70% and still reached the final in two Grand Slam tournaments. Williams is definitely the favorite of the Australian Open. The courts in Melbourne are faster, which speaks in her favor, ”Evert quotes ESPN.

Also, do not have to doubt the motivation of Serena. Success at the Australian Open will help her not only confirm the status of the strongest tennis player on the planet at the moment, but also wipe the title of the greatest representative of this sport in history. The Melbourne title will be her 24th in the Grand Slam singles tournaments and allow her to repeat the record of the legendary Margaret Court.

Hope on Khachanova and Medvedev

After a successful performance in the 2018 season, Russian athletes need to confirm their right to be in the elite of world tennis on the courts of Melbourne. First of all, this concerns Karen Khachanov and Daniel Medvedev, who approach the Australian Open as representatives of the top-20 ATP rankings.

As for Khachanov, his fans have the right to expect from him the best performance on the Melbourne courts in his career. Over the past two years, he invariably yielded to the seeded tennis players in the second round: first Jack Sok and then Juan Martin del Potro. This time he was lucky with a draw, and the first athlete from the top 30 will meet him at least in the third round. They can become Bautista-Agut, of course, if he can cope with Murray.

The real tests will begin for Khachanov, starting with the fourth round. There, his opponent could be Marin Cilic, who in 2018 reached the Australian Open final. Previously, athletes met only once with each other, and the Croat won the victory. Next on the grid Russians are waiting exclusively for top-class opponents, the first of which could be the legendary Roger Federer.

Like his compatriot, Medvedev also never went beyond the second round of the Australian Open. And two years ago, he sensationally lost to Ernesto Escobedo from the United States, who made his way through the qualification, who now holds the 191st place in the ATP rating. As then, Medvedev will start his way in the tournament with a match with the winner of the qualifying rounds, Lloyd Harris, and only in the third round should he meet a really formidable opponent. For the first time in his career, he can enter the court with David Goffin, the final tournament of the ATP - 2017.

Then Daniel will be even more difficult. Due to the fact that he was at the top of the grid, in the fourth round, Djokovic himself could become his opponent. As in the case of Goffin, Medvedev has never met with a Serb in official tournaments, which will make their standoff even more interesting.

After an unsuccessful last season, Andrei Rublev dropped out of the 50 strongest players on the planet, which seriously complicated his prospects for the Australian Open. Already at the start, the 84th World No. will meet with Mackenzie MacDonald, who is five lines higher in the general classification. And in the second round he is waiting for all the same Cilic. Thus, the chances that the Russian can at least repeat his last year’s achievement and get to the third round seem to be rather low.

It will be difficult and Yevgeny Donskoy. If in the first round he manages to cope with his leading ones in the table of ranks of Laszlo Jere, then in the second round, Marco Chekkinato will most likely be waiting for him. Over the past year, the Italian made a real breakthrough - he reached the semifinal of Roland Garros, won two tournaments and took off to the 18th line of the ATP rating. In addition, their last in-person meeting was held in 2013 and ended in favor of a tennis player from Palermo.

Prospects for Kasatkina and the unfavorable draw of Russians

The main hopes of the Russians in the women's tournament are connected with Daria Kasatkina. Like her compatriots Khachanov and Medvedev, she spent last year very successfully, which allowed her to rush into the top ten tennis players on the planet. True, to confirm this status and go far at the Australian Open it will not be easy. She was given only two laps for the “warm-up” - in the first she will meet with justy wrist injured Timea Bachinsky, and in the second she will face one of the tennis players from the second hundred in the ranking - Russian Natalia Vihlyantseva or American Barbara Lepchenko.

Further advance of Kasatkina in the tournament grid will be accompanied by a sharp increase in the level of rivals. Already in the third round, she faces a meeting with Garbine Mugurusa, in the fourth - with Karolina Plishkova, and in the quarter-finals - with the first racket of the world Simone Halep or Serena Williams striving for a record. For a young Russian, a match with each of these rivals will be a real test of strength, as well as the beginning of a new chapter in their careers. It is noteworthy that until now she never went to court with any of the above world tennis.

In addition to Kasatkina and Vihlyantseva, four more Russians appeared at the top of the grid. The most lucky ones were Margarita Gasparyan, who will meet with Chinese Zhu Lin from the second hundred in the rating. But her compatriots face a serious test in matches with rivals from the fifth dozen. 17-year-old Anastasia Potapova will check her strength during the confrontation with Frenchwoman Pauline Parmantier, Veronica Kudermetova will play with Sophia Kenin, and Anna Blinkova with Christina Plishkova.

The six Russian women at the bottom of the net were even less fortunate. Ekaterina Aleksandrova will have to fight against the 24th seeded Lesya Tsurenko in the first round, and Anna Kalinska - against the 11th racket of the world Arina Sobolenko. At the same time, the position of Ekaterina Makarova, who can meet with the Belarusian already at the next stage, seems unenviable. A little easier will be the motherland and Pavlyuchenkova. Eugene is waiting for the match with the Market Vondrousova, and Anastasia - with Monica Puig.