Australian Open: Djokovic may face Nadal in semis; Osaka-Barty potential 4th round matchup

After all the controversy surrounding the men's singles defending champion Novak Djokovic, Tennis Australia have finally announced the draws for the Australian Open 2022. On the men's side, Djokovic is naturally the first seed after the judge ruled in his favour to let him stay in the country and play the Australian Open. Daniil Medvedev is the second seed and he will be looking to upset Djokovic once again like he did at the US Open 2021. In the women's singles draw, Ashleigh Barty will be banking on home support as she aims to clinch her first Australian Open title but everyone is excited to see Naomi Osaka return to the tennis world.

Rafael Nadal is also making a return to Grand Slam tennis after being out for five months with an injury. He won the Melbourne Summer Set title a week back and will aim to win his second Australian Open title. Nadal has a tough draw as he faces a potential semifinal clash against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. He also could have a very tough quarterfinal match against third seed Alexander Zverev and has a potential fourth-round clash with 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz. Nadal will truly have to be at his best in order to have any chance at the title and he starts by facing USA's Marcos Giron.

Djokovic aims for record-breaking 21st Grand Slam; Medvedev's easy route to final

Novak Djokovic will be starting off his hunt for a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title and 10th Australian Open trophy with a match against fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic. Till the semifinals, he will have little trouble with Italian Matteo Berrettini the only real threat. He will be extra motivated to win the Aus Open after the whole visa row, not like he needs it. He is currently tied on 20 Grand Slams with Nadal and Roger Federer and he will be hoping to move ahead of the other two.

Daniil Medvedev came up with the upset of the year in 2021 when he defeated Djokovic in the US Open final. This time around he comes in as the second seed in the Australian Open and with added confidence that he can defeat the World No. 1. His only real threats to the final of the Australian Open are fellow Russian Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals. But if he plays as he did at the US Open then there is little that anyone can do to stop him and he starts his hunt with a clash against Henri Laaksonen.

Australian Open Women's Singles Draw

Naomi Osaka makes her return to the big stage and at the tournament, she has won twice previously including last year. She will be starting the defence of her title with a match against Camila Osorio. She also has a potential clash against top seed Ashleigh Barty in the fourth round itself.

Home favourite Barty enters the tournament with the weight of the entire crowd on her shoulders to win a first Australian Open. She does not have much competition in her route to the final except for Osaka in the fourth round and Coco Gauff or Barbora Krejcikova in the semifinals. Barty starts off her hunt for her home Grand Slam with a match against a qualifier.

Emma Raducanu stunned the world when she won the US Open at the age of just 19. She went from a qualifier all the way to lifting the trophy and that too in dominating fashion without losing a single set. She will also look to get her hands on the Australian Open title and starts the draw with a match against Sloane Stephens. A potential fourth-round clash against third seed Garbine Muguruza looms in the air but if she brings her US Open form Down Under then there is little anyone can do against her.

Image: AP