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Of all the slams, it’s the Australian Open that has historically been the worry Rafael Nadal majority

The “King of Clay” was never brought to Melbourne’s hard courts. Apart from his 2009 win, he has surpassed the top eight on only one other occasion. That was the year before and, however distant Down Under’s heyday, it put him as the sole champion of the 2022 major tournament.

It was a chance to beat Roger Federer, who is continuing to recover from knee surgery, and Novak Djokovic, who has been conspicuously absent from the men’s Grand Slam title race, with 21 gongs on the horizon. However, despite the obvious implications for his historical standing among great players, it would represent one of Nadal’s greatest personal achievements after five months out with a foot injury and, by his own admission, “tough moments and lots of doubt”. ».

Fans of the Spaniard will be relieved then, seeing him so confident as he beat Marcos Giron 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round.

some to see

Nadal is the main draw when he faces Yannick Hanfman, which resulted in a shock against Thanasi Kokkinakis in straight sets 6-2 6-3 6-2. The German qualifiers were able to capitalize on Kokkinakis looking tired, but now he has a much tougher task ahead of him.

At another place, gael monfils will face Kazakh number 1 Alexander Bublik and there’s definitely a lot of excitement about how far the Frenchman can go this time around, having never made it past the quarter-finals in Australia before. His preparation was ideal, he won his 11th ATP Tour title in Adelaide and he controlled the court well.

There is also the possibility to see noemi osaka as he expects a positive start to 2022 after testing last year. your opponent is madison brengle, who got here by beating Dayana Yastremska, although she was helped significantly by continued own errors from the 21-year-old, 60 total, with Yastremska eventually retiring 6-1, 0-6, 5-0. For Osaka The Open was a real opportunity to make a statement after her return to the big stage in New York was limited by finalist and teenager Leylah Fernandez.

how to see

• television: Eurosport 1 (Sky canal 410, BT 435, Virgin 521), Eurosport 2 (Sky 411, BT 436, Virgin 522)
• live broadcast: Special online sports subscription plans available for £6.99 per month

annoying clock

Alejandro Zverev looked solid against Daniel Altmaier and the next one is Juan Millman – No. 89 World, although the rankings don’t necessarily do justice to the determined Aussie, who will be cheered by the local crowd.

The same goes for Alexander Vukic, and while Melbourne’s crowds are by far not to everyone’s favour, the locals were right behind the Sydney star, who stunned Lloyd Harris in the first half. He would expect another surprise in the evening meeting with Radu Albot in court 3.

Belinda Hate could be the clear favorite against amanda anisimovaHowever, the 20-year-old doesn’t sleep easily and has increasingly attracted attention since his first title in Bogotá three years ago. If she can control her nervousness while serving, she has shown that she can overcome the toughest courts with a 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

wednesday game order

All trials begin at midnight UK time; all GMT time.

Rod Laver Stadium

• Paula Badosa vs Martina Trevisan
• Ashleigh Barty (1) vs Lucia Bronzetti
• Yannick Hanfmann vs Rafael Nadal (6)

Not before 8 am.

• Madison Brengle vs. Naomi Osaka (13)
• Alexander Zverev (3) vs John Millman

Margaret Court Stadium

• Harmony Tan Vs Elina Svitolina (15)
• Kwon Soon Woo vs Denis Shapovalov (14)
• Barbora Krejcikova (4) vs Wang Xiyu

Not before 8 am.

• Zheng Qinwen vs Maria Sakkari (5)
• Gael Monfils (17) against Alexander Bublik

Sand John Cain

• Tereza Martincova vs Camila Giorgi (30)

Not before 2 am.

• Madison Keys vs Jacqueline Cristian

Not before 3:30 am.

• Stefan Kozlov vs Matteo Berrettini (7)
• Hubert Hurkacz (10) against Adrian Mannarino

kia stadium

• Victoria Azarenka (24) vs Jil Teichmann
• Tallon Griekspoor vs. Pablo Carreno Busta
• Belinda Bencic (22) vs Amanda Anisimova
• Mackenzie McDonald vs Aslan Karatsev (18)

1573 Arena

• Sara Sorribes Tormo (32) vs Marta Kostyuk
• Bernarda Pera vs Jessica Pegula (21)
• Carlos Alcaraz (31) vs. Dusan Lajovic
• Pedro Martinez vs. Cristian Garin (16)

Court 3

• Oscar Otte vs Lorenzo Sonego (25)
• Alison’s risk against Jelena Ostapenko (26)

Not before 3:30 am.

• Alex Bolt / James McCabe vs Thanasi Kokkinakis / Nick Kyrgios
• Radu Albot vs. Aleksandar Vukic

Court 17

• Alexa Guarachi/Nicole Melichar-Martínez vs Peangtarn Plipuech/Aldila Sutjiadi
• Miomir Kecmanovic vs. Tommy Paul
• Alison Van Uytvanck vs Qiang Wang
• Veronika Kudermetova (28) vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse

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