The players are slowly preparing for the start of the new season. As usual, not much time has passed since the end of the previous tennis season, and the start of the new season is already waiting for us. So get ready to spend some of your hard EasyBet Casino cash on tickets. The season behind us was great and very exciting, and there was a lot of turbulence during the year.
The new ATP Season
Already at the start, we saw the shocking situation in Australia. Novak Djokovic was not allowed to compete at the Australian Open due to strict covid protocols, so he was eventually deported from the country despite his arrival in Australia. His absence was used by Rafael Nadal, who defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final and gained an advantage over Djokovic in terms of Grand Slam titles won.
Nadal increased that difference by another title when he defeated Casper Ruud with a convincing game in the final. Before that, he defeated Djokovic without any major problems and avenged his defeat in 2021 at the same tournament.
This year, Djokovic will be able to participate in Australia again. We should see him in the USA, where he was also unable to participate in several tournaments in the previous season, including the US Open. Novak moved to within one title of Nadal when it comes to Grand Slam tournaments after defeating the eccentric Nick Kyrgios in the final.
The two were not on the best terms, but they buried the hatchet after Novak was denied entry to Australia. In addition to Djokovic and Nadal, who have been at the top of the world for years, the formidable rising force Carlos Alcaraz stood out in the previous season, crowned the fantastic season by winning the first Grand Slam title. He was better than Ruud in the US Open final. At only 19 years old, he is the youngest world number one in tennis history.
At the end of the season, he had a problem with an abdominal muscle injury, so he had to end the season early and withdraw from the ATP finals. Djokovic celebrated in that tournament, while Rafa Nadal once again failed to win the title in a tournament he had never won in his career.
Nadal had injury problems after the French Open, so the second part of the season was not at a satisfactory level. He had foot and stomach problems. He retired from Wimbledon while at the US Open he was eliminated in the semifinals. We cannot expect Nadal and Djokovic to play at the level of a few years ago, but on the other hand, we cannot write them off because they have shown that they can cope with the new hopes of world tennis in a successful manner.
Alcaraz finished the previous season at the top of the ATP list. Still, the question is whether he would have been in that position if Djokovic had the opportunity to play in Australia and the USA. Alcaraz plays equally well on clay and concrete, and in the previous season, he managed to defeat both Djokovic and Nadal. Alcaraz has even impressed some tennis world insiders to say he is a combination of the best attributes of Federer, (movement and volleys), Nadal (fighting spirit) and Djokovic (overall balanced game and mental fortitude).
In Australia, the role of the main favorite is definitely played by Djokovic, while at the French Open the best chances are again given to Nadal. The two have been dominating for years in the mentioned tournaments and they justifiably have the role of favorites.
Their biggest rival in those tournaments will be the current world number one. We will see if Alcaraz has appropriately recovered from the injury that disrupted the final part of the season. The young Spanish tennis player will have to repeat the games from the previous season if he wants to stay at the top.
He does not have a huge advantage over Nadal, but at the start of the season, Djokovic is a much bigger threat. Nadal is defending 2000 points, while Djokovic can only improve after we didn’t see him in Australia last season. In addition to Alcaraz, the previous season was marked by another young man.
At the end of the season, the Danish player Holger Rune, who, like Alcaraz, is only 19 years old, played brilliantly. Towards the end of the season, he played in four finals and won two titles, the biggest of which was the title he won at the Masters tournament in Paris when he beat Djokovic in the final.
He is currently 11 in the world, and we almost certainly expect him to enter the top 10, and it depends only on how much he will progress in the next season. He is a very young boy, so sometimes he behaves in a rather spoiled way on the court.
If he is as focused as he was in the final part of last season, we can expect great results from him in 2023. Felix Auger Aliassime also played a great final role in the season, and with Canada, he managed to win the Davis Cup, which is another great incentive to continue his excellent work. results in the next season.
Casper Ruud is currently the third tennis player in the world, although he has not won a single major title in his career. He has become a specialist in tournaments from the ATP 250 and 500 series, and last season he played in two grand slam finals, which is why he is well deserved at the top, but he will have to repeat such results if he wants to be among the elite in the next season.
Stefanos Tsitsipas had another solid season, and next year he will try to finally win his first Grand Slam title.
Medvedev started the season well but did not make a name for himself for the rest of the year. His compatriot Andrey Rublev was quite solid. From the previous season, we should praise Taylor Fritz, who managed to enter the top 10 players.
The previous season was terrible for Alexander Zverev who got injured at the French Open and we didn’t see him until the end of the season. We hope he has recovered and will have something to offer on the pitch next season.
In the previous season, Dominic Thiem returned to the court after major problems with injury, but he is far from the world leader and the question is whether he is even able to return to the level of games of a few years ago.
Then there are an array of wildcard players who can bust their way into the elite ATP pantheon such as Ben Shelton, Reilly Opelka, Taylor Fritz, Borna Coric, Hubert Hurkacz, the Cerundolo Brothers, Brandon Nakashima, Sebastien Korda, Jenson Brooksby, Nick Kyrgios, Alex deMinaur, Corentin Moutet, Daniel Evans, and who knows for sure if Andy Murray has one last hurrah left in his Head racquet.
Conclusion
We should also mention several other promising players like Sinner, Shapovalov, and Musetti who are expected to make a breakthrough in the next season. However, another great season awaits us and a great battle between two hardened players and new hopefuls who possess the same great talent as Djokovic and Nadal almost two decades ago.
AO · ATP · Carlos Alcaraz · Holger Rune · Novak Djokovic · Rafael Nadal
catherine · December 30, 2022 at 8:10 am
Off topic but still tennis: looks like the United Cup is limping down the runway and may fail to take to the air.
Why ? Maybe there’s already enough tennis in the Australian summer, no one knows who half the players are, the tickets might be a bit expensive, Emma’s not there.
The whole thing’s a shambles so far. Why didn’t they just let the Hopman Cup die a decent death ? Or why didn’t it just continue ? Never understood that one. Except money.
Scoop Malinowski · December 30, 2022 at 9:38 am
Catherine, the Hopman Cup was not affiliated with ATP or WTA, so they didn’t get a piece of the pie. It was an exo event which was taken very seriously by the players and thus it produced some incredible tennis and memorable moments. It was something very special. There will be a new Hopman Cup in the summer staged in France but I doubt it will be as special as the original Harry Hopman Cup. As for United Cup, not interested in it yet, seems like it’s oversaturating and bombarding us with too much tennis too early. I’ll wait for Adelaide to see Djokovic.
catherine · December 30, 2022 at 2:23 pm
That explanation makes sense re HCup – I never took much notice of the financing.
I’ll wait for Auckland to see Emma.
The Oz team in United Cup kind of imploded – Kyrgios, Tomjlanovic W/D amid arguments and acrimony.
Sam · December 30, 2022 at 9:53 pm
while at the French Open the best chances are again given to Nadal.
Scoop, a few months ago, you said that you thought Nadal was done winning Grand Slams. So . . . what changed? 😉
Scoop Malinowski · December 31, 2022 at 8:49 am
He looks finished since the summer, the last hurrah was Roland Garros but even that final looked like a freebie.