AO forecast - Men’s Singles

It is time for me to put my dubious reputation once more on the line and forecast what may happen in the Australian Open in the next fortnight.

First, the Men’s Singles

In the top quarter sits the number one seed, and the winner of the last two Grand Slam titles, Novak Djokovic.  He is aiming to win a seventh AO title, and his path to that record begins with a US qualifier ranked in the 200s, followed by a likely clash with wildcard Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the man he defeated ten years ago in the AO final to grab the first of his 14 majors.

A testing second round but only that, because Novak tends to pass these tests with relative ease.

Two of the young guns feature in the Djokovic quarter - Denis Shapovalov, who could meet the top seed in the third round, and Daniil Medvedev, the player drawn as Djokovic’s opponent in the round of sixteen should he make it that far.  David Goffin is a possible large obstacle in his way of Medvedev.

Assuming Novak passes the first four tests, he will face the survivor of the other half of his quarter in a quarter final.

It is seeded to be Kei Nishikori, and he is facing a few in form players in the group of sixteen - veteran Ivo Karlovic, a finalist in Pune two weeks back, is a potential second round contestant, Philipp Kohlschreiber, semi finalist in Auckland this week, and twelfth seed Fabio Fognini, drawn as the round of sixteen opponent.

I believe that Djokovic will defeat Nishikori in the quarter final.

The other quarter final in the top half is headed by Sascha Zverev, the fourth seed, and the player who knocked off Federer, then Djokovic, to win the ATP Finals trophy at the end of 2018.

His draw looks pretty harmless, a third round meeting likely with Gilles Simon, the semi finalist in Sydney this week.

The first round clash in this quarter to excite crowds is Milos Raonic (16) versus dangerous unseeded Nick Kyrgios.  The winner of this match could be the round of sixteen opponent for Zverev.

Borna Coric is in the mix but I believe that Zverev will end up playing and losing to Dominic Thiem, seventh seed, in the quarter final.

So a semi final between Novak Djokovic (1) and Dominic Thiem (7)

The first quarter in the bottom half of the draw has both of last years finalists.

Sixth seed Marin Cilic should cruise into a third round battle with 2009 semi finalist Fernando Verdasco, and based on his runner up effort last year, I see no reason for the Croatian to let it end there.

His round of sixteen opponent is seeded to be Karen Khachanov, but could also be Roberto Bautista Agut, if he can translate the form which won him the Doha title a fortnight ago, onto the Melbourne courts.

The AO champion for the last two years should be the quarter final match up for Cilic, but Roger Federer initially must negotiate a way past possibly Basilashvili and Tsitsipas, the latter who presented such a challenge to Roger in the Hopman Cup only recently.

My prediction is that Federer will win his quarter against Cilic.

The bottom quarter is that of second seed Rafa Nadal, who we’ve rarely seen raise a racquet since his injury-forced departure from the 2018 US Open in September.

He still has the game to win through to round three, where he should meet the thoroughly in form Australian Alex de Minaur, winner in Sydney this week, and early leader of the 2019 ATP Race.

It could be an Aussie assault for Nadal in the early phase, with James Duckworth first up, then possibly Matthew Ebden, and Alex de Minaur.

An exciting first round match is that between Kyle Edmund (13), last years AO semi finalist, and Tomas Berdych, former Wimbledon finalist, coming back from six months injury, and making the final in Doha first tournament back.

If Nadal makes it that far it could be either of those as his round of sixteen opponent.

Kevin Anderson, fifth seed, and Pune winner, should be a quarter finalist and I select him to outlast Nadal should the Spaniard reach the final eight.

The second semi final, then, Roger Federer (3) v Kevin Anderson (5).

The dream final is that between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, both with six AO titles.

I predict it will occur, as the form of both shows no sign of decline, and the draw is reasonable for both.

Djokovic will win major number fifteen, his third in a row, and continue breaking records.