Novak Djokovic’s absence is an advantage for Zverev at the Australian Open

Australian Open
Advantage Zverev: The German could become number one due to Djokovic’s absence

It’s hard to believe, but there was real tennis on Monday at the Melbourne Park facility. The Australian Open has started. And with that, the almost 14-day farce about the unvaccinated Novak Djokovic, who had to leave the country on Sunday after the final judgment of the Federal Court, is over. Yes, it could have been like that. But the opening day showed that it will take a while before everything settles down again and the Australian Open is really just about tennis. There was enough evidence of this on the first day of the tournament.

Of course it was about Novak Djokovic again

It was just after midnight Melbourne local time when Alexander Zverev, Germany’s top tennis player, finally appeared at the obligatory post-match press conference after beating Daniel Altmaier (7:6,6:2,7:6). The intense game deserved a few questions, but of course it was all about Djokovic again.

A journalist wanted to know how he rated everything now that the world number one was no longer here. Zverev, the current number three in the ranking, is known to be good with the Serb. Nothing critical came from the 24-year-old German before the start of the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. And he remained true to his line: “All of this was not easy for anyone, but it was particularly difficult for him,” said Zverev. That sounded a lot like blah blah, but then it got substantial: “Maybe it really needs to be reworked from the ground up. I’m particularly sorry for how the whole world is talking about him now,” added the Hamburger, with such sentences obviously also wants to express his loyalty to Djokovic.

Unlike Zverev, Rafael Nadal is not known to have great sympathy for his opponent, who has finally been expelled from Australia, in the fight for the most Grand Slam successes (both have 20 major titles). The Spaniard was also in action for the first time on Monday and he was also confronted with the nerve issue after his easy victory over the American Marcos Giron. Nadal said of Djokovic that he was not the only one who probably did things wrong in this case. Of course there are several people responsible for the terrible situation of the past two weeks. “But of course he is also one of those responsible.” That was the end of the matter for Nadal. He doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. Will that succeed?

The attractive figure will continue to determine the sport

The attractive figure Djokovic and everything that has happened in the past few days around the 34-year-old tennis superstart will probably continue to determine the main lines of the sport and maybe change them permanently. Monday proved that. On the other hand – and that is also a bit reassuring – tennis will write new stories and push what was previously dominant to the sidelines again. Naturally, this works best during or shortly after Grand Slam tournaments.

The story of the Australian Open could go like this: For the first time since February 2020, a professional other than Novak Djokovic will hold the number one position in men’s tennis. Without the Serb, who won the Australian Open nine times, a door suddenly opens for both Daniil Medvedev and Zverev. The prerequisite for this, however, is that one of the two wins the tournament. Should that be the case, both the Russian and Zverev could replace Djokovic at the top of the world rankings.

The man from Hamburg could be the second German after Boris Becker (last on September 8, 1991) to take the lead in the men’s ranking. Zverev certainly sees the great opportunity in the superstar’s absence to win his first Grand Slam tournament: “When you talk about the possible winners, you have to talk about Medvedev, Tsitsipas. Also about Nadal. I myself have in the past six played well for months,” he said shortly before the start of the tournament on Media Day.

Stepping out of Djokovic’s shadow, which is oversized in every respect in Melbourne, with great sport and then replacing him at the top. This is how it could really go for Zverev at the Australia Open.