The 128 players, not all determined, as qualifying is yet to be finalised, does provide us with some tantalising prospects, and has altered my original thoughts on what may transpire, if just a little.
One thing remains steadfast in my mind - Novak Djokovic is far and away favourite to win the title, and how ‘tough’ his draw may be rated by some is irrelevant. The toughness is faced by his every opponent.
Just assessing the defending champion’s possible road to the quarters, he first faces German Jan-Lennard Struff, a capable top 40 exponent, but not as dangerous as a few would contend - Australian Alex Bolt dismissed him in Adelaide this week, and Bolt is ranked outside the top 100. A qualifier or wildcard in round two, before possibly Dan Evans in the third round. Diego Schwartzman is the player seeded to be the round of sixteen opponent, and a quarter final is expected to be against either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Roberto Bautista Agut. The Greek 6th seed knocked out Federer in the fourth round last year and reached the semis, but the Spaniard reached the quarters and is in terrific form.
Speaking of Roger Federer, he would be quietly confident of reaching the second week, based on his record against prospective opposition. In the same half as Djokovic, but without any lead up competition, the Swiss maestro should breeze past Steve Johnson, win workouts against Krajinovic and Hurkacz, and after any cobwebs have cleared, be ready for some fireworks when meeting either Denis Shapovalov or his US Open conqueror Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round. Shapovalov has looked good at various times in the new year, but fell disappointingly to Ugo Humbert in the Auckland quarter finals this week. Dimitrov led Bulgaria to some fine results in the ATP Cup, but lost when faced with a more highly credentialed player in Goffin.
Federer’s quarter final opponent is hard to predict but probably less difficult to defeat. Matteo Berrettini is seeded to be that individual, but his hard court GS record is anything but inspiring, losing in the opening round last year here. Fabio Fognini has some claims, as does Borna Coric, but it’s not the strongest section.
Rafa Nadal is top seed and deserves it because of a consistent 2019 and sharing the majors with Djokovic. However, he won’t appreciate the possibility of a fourth round meeting with Nick Kyrgios should the Australian make it that far. Rafa won’t need much time to deal with Dellien then Delbonis or Sousa, and Pablo Carreno Busta is a compatriot and friend, but seriously if it’s a third round match, goodbye Pablo.
Kyrgios still must fight off Karen Khachanov in the third round assuming he even wins rounds one and two. The pair last met in controversy and we know what that means. This year Kyrgios has been in fine touch, whereas the Russian inconsistent, a second round loss in Auckland to unseeded Millman not ideal.
Nadal is solid enough to reach the final eight, and his match up should come from the section which houses Kevin Anderson (unseeded and dangerous) and Dominic Thiem, a proven Grand Slam second weeker. Although seeded 20, teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime could scare a lot of more established names in this quarter, and it may be his time to battle it out in the round of sixteen.
Daniil Medvedev is the last of the top four seeds, and is a genuine chance to trouble anyone he meets during the next fortnight. US Open 2019 was proof enough of his worth. And the pain he gives Djokovic each time they battle it out means that the tall Russian has the potential to be at the top of tennis for some time.
This tournament he has a real tester with which to begin - Frances Tiafoe. He may have Tsonga in the third round and Stan Wawrinka in the fourth, and the quarter final match is drawn to be Medvedev v Zverev.
Zverev has Cecchinato in round one, a former Roland Garros semi finalist, who has never won a first round match in any other major tournament. But then there are others in his section who pose issues - Casper Ruud, Fernando Verdasco, Andrey Rublev, Nikoloz Basilashvili and David Goffin (potential round of sixteen road block)
So my quarter final predictions
Rafa Nadal (1) to defeat Dominic Thiem (5)
Daniil Medvedev (4) to defeat Andrey Rublev (17)
Roger Federer (3) to defeat Fabio Fognini (12)
Novak Djokovic (2) to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas (6)
Pretty conservative but watch out for those selections to come crashing down !
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