Photo: wikipedia.org
We are longing for one of the largest annual tennis competitions — the Australian Open! Its kickoff was shifted by almost one month. But it will not be long in coming! Thus, the first Grand Slam tournament of the new year will start on February 8 and will last till February 21.
Format and venue
The competition will run in Melbourne, at Melbourne Park. In spite of the current situation, the tournament will be held in full format and will consist of competitive games for professional players in Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.
Participants
Traditionally, the final participant list is determined by qualifiers. This year, the Australian Open 2021 qualifiers were held outside Australia, with the Men’s qualifiers in Doha and Qatar and the Women’s qualifiers in Dubai. Below are lists of seeded players.
Photo: wikipedia.org
Unfortunately, some world’s top racquet players withdrew from the championship. For instance, in early 2021, it became known that the legendary Swiss Roger Federer and American John Isner would not fly to Australia due to the quarantine. Cristian Garin pulls out of the tournament due to a wrist injury. Amanda Anisimova and Madison Keys will miss out on the competition because of coronavirus positive tests. Kiki Bertens will be absent due to a foot injury.
Prize pool
The prize fund will amount to 80,000,000 Australian dollars, which is 9 million more than last year. The Singles winners will get A$2,750,000, and the finalists will take A$1,500,000. The Doubles victors will receive A$600 thousand per team, and the silver medalists will earn A$340 thousand.
Tournament favorites
A defending champion in Men’s Singles, Novak Djokovic, remains the favorite. During his career, the Serbian tennis player won 17 Grand Slam tournaments and got the world number one Singles title. Undoubtedly, he has a high chance to replicate his success. His closest competitor is considered to be Spain’s Rafael Nadal, followed by Russia’s Daniil Medvedev and Austria’s Dominic Thiem.
As to Women’s Singles, it is more difficult to determine the undeniable favorite here. The defending champion in Women’s Singles is Sofia Kenin, a young American tennis player who won her first Grand Slam title in 2020. Sofia has a possibility to repeat her success, for sure. However, there are a lot of strong opponents around. Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka has good chances to win. She has 3 Grand Slam victories behind her. Among her main competitors are America’s Serena Williams, Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, and Canada’s Bianca Andreescu.
The defending champions in Men’s Doubles are Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury. They got their first major team title last year and certainly return to defend it at AO 2021. But will they manage to stand against such strong duos as former AO champions? Among them are Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, John Peers and Michael Venus, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut…
As to Women’s Doubles, Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic are current champions and remain tournament favorites. They have won three Grand Slam Women’s Doubles titles together and intend to repeat their triumph!
So, we are in for a very bright tournament, aren’t we? Stay in the loop with us and make your winning bets with awesome odds on Cyber.bet!
