Australian Open [Men] - Grand Slam

[TFAdmin]

DATE: January 20 - February 2, 2020
SURFACE: Hard
PRIZE MONEY: A$71,000,000
FIELD SIZE: 128
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Novak Djokovic

Seeds:

1. Rafael Nadal
2. Novak Djokovic
3. Roger Federer
4. Daniil Medvedev
5. Dominic Thiem
6. Stefanos Tsitsipas
7. Alexander Zverev
8. Matteo Berrettini
9. Roberto Bautista Agut
10. Gael Monfils
11. David Goffin
12. Fabio Fognini
13. Denis Shapovalov
14. Diego Schwartzman
15. Stan Wawrinka
16. Karen Khachanov
17. Andrey Rublev
18. Grigor Dimitrov
19. John Isner
20. Felix Auger-Aliassime
21. Benoit Paire
22. Guido Pella
23. Nick Kyrgios
24. Dusan Lajovic
25. Borna Coric
26. Nikoloz Basilashvili
27. Pablo Carreno Busta
28. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
29. Taylor Fritz
30. Dan Evans
31. Hubert Hurkacz
32. Milos Raonic

Melbourne Park. Credit: Steve Collis (Wikipedia / Creative Commons)

Tournament:

The Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events of the year and has been staged since 1905. Prior to 1988, the tournament was played on grass. Since 1988 two types of hardcourt surfaces have been used at Melbourne Park (formerly known as Flinders Park) - Rebound Ace to 2007 and then Plexicushion.

Attendances at the Australian Open are second only to the US Open and the show courts are the Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena and the refurbished Margaret Court Arena. All are equipped with retractable roofs.

Melbourne:

Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria in Queensland and regularly features in the top ranks of the "most livable" cities in the world. It is the second-largest city in Australia (after Sydney) with a population of just over 4.5 million.

Melbourne City Montage. Credit: Wikimedia

Founded in 1835, The metropolis is located on the large natural bay of Port Phillip and expands into the hinterlands towards the Dandenong and Macedon mountain ranges, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley.



At the city's centre is the modern Federation Square development, with plazas, bars, and restaurants by the Yarra River. In the Southbank area, the Melbourne Arts Precinct is the site of Arts Centre Melbourne, a performing arts complex and the National Gallery of Victoria, with Australian and indigenous art.

Fun Facts About Melbourne

Melbourne has the highest number of cafes and restaurants per number of people than any other city in the world.

Melbourne is officially the fox capital of the world, with between 6 and 23 foxes per square kilometre in the urban area of the city.

In 1956 Melbourne became the first host of the Olympic Games outside of Europe and North America.

Melbourne was the capital city of Australia for 26 years between 1901 and 1927 before the capital became Canberra.

Melbourne been ranked the world’s most liveable city every year since 2011 by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

TV Coverage:

Africa:
Algeria - beIN Sports
Angola - SuperSport
Benin - Eurosport, SuperSport
Botswana - SuperSport
Burkina Faso - Eurosport, SuperSport
Burundi - Eurosport, SuperSport
Cameroon - Eurosport, SuperSport
Cape Verde - SuperSport
Central African Republic - Eurosport, SuperSport
Chad - beIN Sports, SuperSport
Comoros - SuperSport
Congo - Eurosport, SuperSport
Cote d'Ivoire - Eurosport, SuperSport
Democratic Republic of Congo - Eurosport, SuperSport
Djibouti - beIN Sports, SuperSport
Equatorial Guinea - Eurosport, SuperSport
Eritrea - SuperSport
Ethiopia - SuperSport
Gabon - SuperSport
Gambia - SuperSport
Ghana - SuperSport
Guinea - SuperSport
Guinea-Bissau - SuperSport
Kenya - SuperSport
Lesotho - SuperSport
Liberia - SuperSport
Libya - beIN Sports
Madagascar - SuperSport
Malawi - SuperSport
Mauritania - beIN Sports, SuperSport
Mauritius - SuperSport
Mayotte - SuperSport
Morocco - beIN Sports
Mozambique - SuperSport
Nambia - SuperSport
Niger - Eurosport, SuperSport
Nigeria - SuperSport
Reunion - SuperSport
Rwanda - Eurosport, SuperSport
Sao Tome and Principe - SuperSport
Senegal - Eurosport, SuperSport
Seychelles - SuperSport
Sierra Leone - SuperSport
Socotra - SuperSport
Somalia - beIN Sports, SuperSport
South Africa - SuperSport
South Sudan - beIN Sports, SuperSport
St Helena - SuperSport
Sudan - beIN Sports, SuperSport
Swaziland - SuperSport
Tanzania - SuperSport
Togo - Eurosport, SuperSport
Tunisia - beIN Sports
Uganda - SuperSport
Zambia - SuperSport
Zanzibar - SuperSport
Zimbabwe - SuperSport

Asia Pacific & Oceania:
American Samoa - Tennis Channel, ESPN
Australia - Nine
Bangladesh - Sony Six
Bhutan - Sony Six
Brunei - Fox Sports
Cambodia - Fox Sports
China - CCTV, iQIYI , Beijing TV, Guangdong TV, Great Sports Channel (Shanghai), Fox Sports (hotels only)
Cook Islands - ESPN International
East Timor - Fox Sports
Fiji - FBC TV
Guam - Fox Sports, Tennis Channel, ESPN International
French Polynesia - ESPN
Hong Kong - Fox Sports
India - Sony Six
Indonesia - Fox Sports
Japan - NHK, WOWOW
Kiribati - ESPN International
Laos - Fox Sports
Macau - Fox Sports
Malaysia - Fox Sports
Maldives - Sony Six
Marshall Islands - ESPN
Micronesia - Fox Sports, ESPN International
Mongolia - Fox Sports
Myanmar - Fox Sports
Nepal - Sony Six
New Zealand - SKY
Niue - ESPN International
North Korea - Fox Sports
Northern Marianas - Tennis Channel
Palau - ESPN
Papua New Guinea - Fox Sports
Philippines - Fox Sports
Samoa - ESPN International
Singapore - Fox Sports
South Korea - Fox Sports
Sri Lanka - Sony Six
Tahiti - ESPN International
Taiwan - Fox Sports
Thailand - Fox Sports
Tokelau - ESPN International
Tonga - ESPN International
Tuvalu - ESPN International
Vietnam - Fox Sports
Western Samoa - ESPN International

Central Asia:
Afghanistan - Sony Six
Azerbaijan - Eurosport
Kazakhstan - Eurosport
Kyrgyzstan - Eurosport
Tajikistan - Eurosport
Turkmenistan - Eurosport
Uzbekistan - Eurosport
Pakistan - Sony Six

Europe:
Albania - Eurosport
Andorra - Eurosport
Armenia - Eurosport
Austria - Eurosport, ServusTV
Belarus - Eurosport
Belgium - Eurosport
Bosnia-Herzegovina - Eurosport
Bulgaria - Eurosport
Croatia - Eurosport
Cyprus - Eurosport
Czech Republic - Eurosport
Denmark - Eurosport
Estonia - Eurosport
Finland - Eurosport
France - Eurosport
Georgia - Eurosport
Germany - Eurosport
Greece - Eurosport
Hungary - Eurosport
Iceland - Eurosport
Ireland - Eurosport
Israel - Eurosport
Italy - Eurosport
Kosovo - Eurosport
Latvia - Eurosport
Liechtenstein - Eurosport
Lithuania - Eurosport
Luxembourg - Eurosport
Macedonia - Eurosport
Malta - Eurosport
Moldova - Eurosport
Monaco - Eurosport
Montenegro - Eurosport
Netherlands - Eurosport
Norway - Eurosport
Poland - Eurosport
Portugal - Eurosport
Romania - Eurosport
Russia - Eurosport
San Marino - Eurosport
Serbia - Eurosport
Slovakia - Eurosport
Slovenia - Eurosport
Spain - Eurosport
Sweden - Eurosport
Switzerland - Eurosport, SSR SRG
Turkey - Eurosport
Ukraine - Eurosport
United Kingdom - Eurosport
Vatican State - Eurosport

Latin America & Caribbean:
Anguilla - ESPN International
Antigua - ESPN International
Argentina - ESPN International
Aruba - ESPN International
Ascension Island - ESPN International
Bahamas - ESPN International
Barbados - ESPN International
Barbuda - ESPN International
Bermuda - ESPN International
Bolivia - ESPN International
Bonaire - ESPN International
Brazil - ESPN International
British Virgin Islands - ESPN International
Cayman Islands - ESPN International
Chile - ESPN International
Colombia - ESPN International
Costa Rica - ESPN International
Curacao - ESPN International
Dominica - ESPN International
Dominican Republic - ESPN International
Ecuador - ESPN International
El Salvador - ESPN International
Falkland Islands - ESPN International
French Guiana - ESPN International
Grenada - ESPN International
Guadeloupe - ESPN International
Guatemala - ESPN International
Guyana - ESPN International
Haiti - ESPN International
Honduras - ESPN International
Jamaica - ESPN International
Martinique - ESPN International
Mexico - ESPN International
Montserrat - ESPN International
Nicaragua - ESPN International
Panama - ESPN International
Paraguay - ESPN International
Peru - ESPN International
Puerto Rico - ESPN International, Tennis Channel
St Barthelemy - ESPN International
St Kitts/Nevis - ESPN International
St Lucia - ESPN International
St Maarten - ESPN International
Suriname - ESPN International
Trinidad & Tobago - ESPN International
Turks & Caicos - ESPN International
Uruguay - ESPN International
Venezuela - ESPN International
U.S Virgin Islands - ESPN, Tennis Channel

Middle East:
Bahrain - beIN Sports
Egypt - beIN Sports
Iran - beIN Sports
Iraq - beIN Sports
Israel - Eurosport
Jordan - beIN Sports
Kuwait - beIN Sports
Lebanon - beIN Sports
Oman - beIN Sports
Palestine - beIN Sports
Qatar - beIN Sports
Saudi Arabia - beIN Sports
Syria - beIN Sports
United Arab Emirates - beIN Sports
Yemen - beIN Sports

North America:
Canada - TSN (English) RDS (French)
USA - ESPN, Tennis Channel

 

[AnonymousFan]

 

[AnonymousFan]

Draw comes out tonight! 1 AM central

 

[Carol]

Rafa an Novak have had a lot of fun in the rally for relief

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Alex Deminaur has withdrawn from the AO due to Abdominal injury.

 

[Moxie]

Alex Deminaur has withdrawn from the AO due to Abdominal injury.

I read that he was hoping not to. That's a shame.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I read that he was hoping not to. That's a shame.

Apparently it is a 4cm tear,not good at all.

 

[AnonymousFan]

They didn’t show the draw on TC here

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Try this stream

bit.ly/35Y2Yez.

Or go to the official australian open website they are streaming it there.

 

[AnonymousFan]

Try this stream

bit.ly/35Y2Yez.

Or go to the official australian open website they are streaming it there.

Your link led to the AO site and live stream!

 

[rafanoy1992]

So basically Nadal's road from Rd of 16 to Finals:

Rd of 16: Khachanov or Kyrgios
QF: Thiem
SF: Medvedev
F: Djokovic/Federer

Yeah, that is tricky and tough road for Nadal. He really has to conserve A LOT of energy in the first three round if he wants to win the whole thing.

On the other hand, Khachanov/Kyrgios and Thiem's level are not super high right now so they might lose early.

Federer's has a favorable draw as he drew Berrettini in the quarters. However, Hurkacz is playing well right now so that could be trap match.

 

[rafanoy1992]

Medvedev has an interesting quarter: Tsonga, Wawrinka and Rublev. If Medvedev is not careful, any of those three players can take him out.

As for Tsitsipas, he could face Raonic in the 3rd round, RBA in the 4th round and Djokovic in the QF.

All in all, I think with everything that is happening, I do not see anyone stopping Djokovic on winning his 8th AO title and 17th slam overall.

 

[rafanoy1992]

If Nadal has any chance of winning here for a 2nd time, he has to blitz through the 1st three rounds and not spend too much energy. If not, then he will be fried by either in QF or SF.

If we are talking about just conserving energy, then I would rather have Nadal face Kyrgios than Khachanov in the 4th round. It's just a matter of which Thiem will show up this tournament. If it is the Thiem from early 2019 then I think Nadal will be fine. But if the Thiem from Fall 2019 shows up, then yeah Nadal will be fried by either QF or SF.

In related news, if Nadal reaches the SF, he will keep the number 1 ranking.

 

[Bonaca]

If Nadal has any chance of winning here for a 2nd time, he has to blitz through the 1st three rounds and not spend too much energy. If not, then he will be fried by either in QF or SF.

If we are talking about just conserving energy, then I would rather have Nadal face Kyrgios than Khachanov in the 4th round. It's just a matter of which Thiem will show up this tournament. If it is the Thiem from early 2019 then I think Nadal will be fine. But if the Thiem from Fall 2019 shows up, then yeah Nadal will be fried by either QF or SF.

In related news, if Nadal reaches the SF, he will keep the number 1 ranking.

First look/thoughts on the draw:

Pretty fair. Roger in Novaks half, Daniil in Nadals.
Tsitsipussy should be a bit tougher QF than the Wiener Schnitzel.
Everything else not that important.

If both save energy until the SF, it could really be the dream F: NOVAK-NADAL!!!
Lets hope the best.

 

[Bonaca]

Definitely looking forward to Nadal vs Greek Clown, should be interesting.

 

[AnonymousFan]

USO Twitter:

 

[Bonaca]

USO Twitter:

All pretty equal, isnt it?

 

[britbox]

All pretty equal, isnt it?

Medvedev's got the toughest draw IMO.

FFS, Are we at the draw already?!!! I've been sleeping on tennis for a while (too much Premier League football). Time to get back with the program.

 

[brokenshoelace]

I also noticed a French player M. Janvier in the qualifying draw. Doesn't that mean "Mr. January," and therefore, shouldn't he be a threat to win the whole tournament?

Tournament concludes in February so he's screwed,

 

[brokenshoelace]

Nadal seems to have the toughest draw but it's fairly balanced overall.