‘Djokovic comes into Australian Open as the favourite. He has the quality to be the No.1 even now’: Todd Woodbridge

The preparations for the 2023 season has already begun and in about three weeks, the Melbourne Park will be all set to stage the first Grand Slam of the new calendar year – the Australian Open. The cynosure of the event so far has been the return of Novak Djokovic after the drama that had unfolded last January with his deportation and visa ban over his Covid vaccination stance. The nine-time champion eventually managed to get his ban overturned, leaving him with an opportunity to complete La Decima in Australian Open come January 2023. And Todd Woodbridge, a former world No.1 in doubles, has backed the Serb as the overwhelming favourite despite the presence of defending champion Rafael Nadal and world no.1 Carlos Alcaraz.

Unvaccinated Djokovic was denied the opportunity to defend his Australian Open title at the start of this year owing to then Covid restrictions in the country. While Djokovic remains unvaccinated from Covid-19, Australia have eased on their restrictions and overturned his three-year visa ban, implying his return 18th appearance in Melbourne Park.

“Good news is that he will be playing at the Adelaide International so he will be in Australia for a few weeks before the Open starts. That will give him time to get all the stress and tension of last year out. There will be pressure from the media but he has dealt with it very well. He is coming back to a country he loves playing in. He has won the Open nine times. He loves the surface, the atmosphere. I think he will be very driven to win here. Because he was not allowed to play here last time, that will be added motivation. Rafa (Nadal) won when Novak was not allowed to play. That too will be on his mind when he tries to reach the record of most number of Grand Slams won. I think he comes into the Australian Open as the favourite. He has the quality to be the No.1 even now and perhaps he would have been had he played the full season. That was his choice not to, but he has not lost the form or quality. He should be comfortable here,” said Woodbridge during a virtual interaction on Wednesday, organised by Sony Sports.

With Djokovic absent, Nadal, bouncing back from a career-threatening injury, lifted his second Australian Open title, beating Daniil Medvedev in an epic five-setter.

When asked by Hindustan Times about Nadal’s chances, Woodbridge said, “Rafa has always had this quality in him to deflect attention and just focus on his own game. He just tries to fly under the radar. I’m pretty sure he would do that again when he comes to Australia. But for him, he hasn’t played a lot of tennis since Wimbledon. The US Open was difficult for him, he didn’t play that well and didn’t finish the year off very well. He now has a son, which means a big change in his lifestyle. I remember watching him at Laver Cup, when Roger retired, you could almost see it in Rafa’s eyes that he may be the next. But if comes into the Australian summer fully fit, then we know what he is capable of. He is one of the toughest mental players of the game. But I still think that it is Novak who is the fresher out of the two as they look towards this new season.”

2022 has also seen a lot of younger players making their presence felt on the ATP tour. Alcaraz has been the most dominant of them all, having claimed his maiden Slam in US Open. He also became the youngest world No.1 as well. Meanwhile, Casper Ruud, reached two Slam finals – losing to Nadal in French Open and Alcaraz in New York. But Woodbridge has backed Italy’s Jannik Sinner as his second favourite in the Australian Open.

“Carlos has the best of the Big Three’s style. He has the volleys of Federer, he has the tenacity of Nadal and the court movement of Djokovic. You put that together and it’s an awesome package. But I want to see how he copes with being the No. 1 and having won the last grand slam (US Open). He is still maturing, as an athlete and a man. I have this feeling that it will be Sinner who has the outside chance of winning here if Novak or Nadal doesn’t make it. I think he is ready for the next level.”

[Sony Sports Network is the official broadcaster of Australian Open 2023 starting from 16th January 2023.]