We will be just seventeen days into the new year on Monday. Seventeen days and the first highlight of the season will start in Melbourne. Australian Open 2022, the first grand slam tournament of the season, is back at its usual time (for reference, a year ago, AO 2021 started on February 8).
We all hope that it is just a start to the regular days we were used to. So let me jump right into the topic advertised in the title. Who do I predict to win Australian Open 2022?
Australian Open 2022 Men Singles Winner will be …
Our readers are almost equally split in the poll between Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev, with Nadal the third choice of voters. And I did not see such a close call in any of the last eight grand slams.
Days when you just pick Djokovic or Federer for hard and grass grand slams and Nadal for Roland Garros are definitely gone. The pool of possible winners contains at least five names at the moment.
Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Rafa Nadal, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas are the most prominent Australian Open 2022 trophy candidates. However, there is still a chance for someone other. It would not be a big shock if Rublev, Berrettini, or Auger-Aliassime play finals.
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That means we are probably at the start of the most open Australian Open in the last ten years. So let me write a bit about the five most probable title challengers.
Novak Djokovic was the big topic before the tournament, and unfortunately, it was not related to his tennis skills. This site is about tennis, so I will refrain from commenting on his visa and vax issues. However, from a tennis point of view, any tennis tournament with Djokovic is better than a tournament without Djokovic. And be sure that emotions from the stands in Melbourne will add to the heat on the courts.
He is considered to be the biggest favorite and will be under enormous pressure to prove his position. Additionally, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are competing in the quest to be the first player to reach twenty-one Grand Slam titles.
Unfortunately, Djokovic did not play a competitive match for two months. That makes evaluation of his form impossible.
The discussion about the 21st grand slam title is not fair to Nadal. Ninety percent of people are speaking just about Djokovic, but I think Nadal has almost the same chance to be the first one to get there. Maybe not here in Melbourne (but he easily can reach the semis or even finals), but May and clay will come sooner than we think.
Daniil Medvedev got his first grand slam trophy in New York last year. So now, the question stands “Will he go on with the titles, or will he follow Thiem road?”.
The fact is, he looks tired. He did his job and won three of four singles matches at the ATP Cup, but his performance was not top.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is dealing with an injury, and the results are disappointing. I do not think he is 100% ready for a two-week-long Melbourne campaign.
That leaves me with Alexander Zverev. He did not start the season great (2 wins vs. 1 loss), but it was not terrible either. So, he is timing his form just right for the Australian Open.
Zverev won Nitto ATP Finals in November and proved he could beat everyone. He already played Grand Slam final (2020 US Open) and was in the AO semifinals in 2020. I think 2022 can be his year, and he will prove it in Melbourne.
Australian Open 2022 Men Singles Winner will be Alexander Zverev.
Australian Open 2022 Ladies Singles Winner will be …
Ladies’ singles winners prediction at Grand Slams is always about evaluating the form of 128 players. I did try everything in the past (even the random number generator) and was successful very seldom (random number generator failed). The last right call was a year ago in Melbourne when I picked Naomi Osaka. That means I am defending, and that brings the extra pressure.
I would not name all ladies I think can win it. It would be easier to write up the few names I do not expect to win Australian Open 2022. The poll results say a lot too. Ash Barty is leading, Osaka is the second choice, and the third most picked choice is “someone else.”
Ash Barty is definitely the name I consider a lot. She played exceptionally well in Adelaide at the first tournament of the season. Then she took one week off. That seems to me like a clever decision. A two-week-long contest is not easy, and a player needs to be rested and full of strength to survive until the second weekend.
The other lady I consider is not Naomi Osaka nor Aryna Sabalenka. Instead, I am thinking about Simone Halep. She did not have a perfect last season, but now she looks delighted, motivated, and happy. Moreover, she started the year on a winning note and claimed the trophy in the Melbourne tournament. That means a lot as she proved the surface in Melbourne suits her.
In the end, I believe in Barty a little bit more than in Halep.
Australian Open 2022 Ladies Singles Winner will be Ash Barty.
My Australian Open 2022 Winners Predictions:
Alexander Zverev – Ash Barty
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