The Australian Open is now fast approaching, which is positive news for the sporting world, with endless cancellations and postponements due to COVID-19. We even saw Wimbledon cancelled in 2020 but it appears improvements have been made and events will be going ahead, starting with the Australian Open.
The Australian Open will kick start 2021 in the early period of February and has been given the go-ahead by organisers. They covered all the potential risks ahead and chartered 18 players from three separate locations in order to get both staff and places to the event as safe as possible. That was stated by Craig Riley, who is part of Tennis Australia. He said “There have been some unavoidable delays finalising flight details for players, there are a lot of pieces to this logistical puzzle. We appreciate your patience and are conscious that timelines are very tight.’ It shows just how much preparation was going into the event, in order for it to be a success.
The event is all about Novak Djokovic, who again heads in as the overwhelming favourite at betting sites, like the list found here. There has been continued support coming in for him and that is little surprise, based on the performances that we have in the last few years in Australia.
The support behind the 33-year-old continues, as he also looks to push up the charts for all-time Grand slam wins and many experts predict he will become the all-time leader, come to the end of his career. He is an eight-time winner of the Australian Open and has also won for each of the last two seasons.
Djokovic has been a dominant force here in recent years, so it is little surprise that supports continues to come in for him to win a third in succession. He beat Dominic Thiem in the final back in 2020 and he could yet turn out to be the major challenger for the 2021 competition next month.
It now sets up for what is expected to be a fascinating competition, as the best players in the world again meet in Australia. Rafael Nadal will also be another key contender at the competition, despite having only won it on one occasion. He also always provides a threat to Djokovic when they play, and it will be fascinating to see their rivalry in Australia and could we yet see them face off in the final.