By Mike McIntyre
The first Grand Slam of 2019 is only a week away and tennis fans are anticipating some great tennis action this year in Melbourne at the Australian Open. Defending champion Roger Federer will have his work cut-out for him at the age of 37 although he has defied his age by winning the previous two editions of the tournament. With 20 Grand Slam titles already behind him, it shouldn't be that shocking if the Swiss legend was somehow able to pull off the feat yet again. That being said, let's look at who the main contenders and some darkhorse candidates are to unseat him this year.
Despite Federer having won the last two Aussie Opens, sportsbettingdime.com still has Djokovic as the tournament favorite. The current World No. 1 shook-off a slow start in 2018 and caught fire after winning his fourth Wimbledon title last July. The 31 year old also won the US Open as well as ATP Tour Masters 1000 events in Cincinnati and Shanghai. Djokovic only stands three major titles from tying Rafael Nadal on the all-time list with 17. Djokovic started this season by falling in the semifinals in Doha to Roberto Bautista Agut - ranked 24th on the Tour, who would proceed to win the title.
Kevin Anderson has proved over the past two seasons that he is much more than just a big serve. The 6'8'' South African is now ranked 6th in the world and has had back-to-back seasons being a finalist at a Grand Slam. Anderson started this season strong by winning the title in Pune, India over Ivo Karlovic. A super nice guy off the court, it is easy to root for Anderson to break through and capture his first Grand Slam title in 2019.
Alexander Zverev has been mentioned as a Major contender and possible heir to the Big Three whenever they do eventually retire from the sport. That being said, the 21 year old German has never made it past the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam despite the fact he has been successful at every other level of ATP play. Zverev partnered-up with 8 time major champion Ivan Lendl late last year and if anyone can appreciate taking a little extra time to win a first Slam title it would be Lendl who didn't win his first one until the age of 24.
Karen Kachanov is another young talent to keep an eye on this year. The 22 year old Russian was one of the few who was able to beat Djokovic late in 2018 as he captured his first Masters 1000 at the indoor event in Paris. Kachanov has not yet made it past the fourth round of a Slam, but it would be shocking if that did not happen this year somewhere along the line.
Finally, we have to mention Rafael Nadal despite the fact he is already dealing with a thigh injury to start his season and the fact he was practically unable in 2018 to complete or compete in any hardcourt tournaments save for the Rogers Cup that he won in Toronto in August. Nadal will be hoping he can at least participate and finish the Aussie Open on his own terms, something he could not do a year ago when he had to retire in his quarterfinal match against Marin Cilic while trailing 0-2 in the fifth set.
In terms of some darkhorse candidates let's lead off with Australian hopeful Nick Kyrgios who on any given day could upset just about anybody on the entire ATP Tour. Kyrgios' issues are mostly mental though his body has also been letting him down with increasing regularity in recent times.
Another player with loads of talent but a weakening physique is 28 year old Canadian Milos Raonic. With that booming serve, Raonic will always be dangerous on a hard court but he has seen just about every part of his body fail at one point or another the past couple of years. Raonic came into this event a year ago out of shape even by his own admission, but if he's fit to start 2019 then he will be a dangerous player to face.
Finally, another opponent that could very well contend for a Slam in 2019 is Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece. A part of the talented NextGen group of under-21 players on the ATP Tour (he won the NextGen finals in fact to close-out 2018), Tsitsipas made his first Masters 1000 finals in Toronto last summer defeating Djokovic, Zverev and Anderson before falling to Nadal. The 20 year old has plenty of personality and flash on the court and is someone the Melbourne crowd could certainly get behind.
Lastly, don't forget about the likes of Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem and Juan Martin Del Potro for this year's list of contenders. All three have made Slam finals before, with Cilic and Delpo each winning one at the US Open.
Check back with us throughout the two week event that begins on January 14th for full coverage and analysis of this exciting early season tennis event.
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