Come Sunday, defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka will be geared up to retain their supremacy at the ‘Happy Slam’.
The fact that both players had a rather successful 2024, ending the year at the top in the men’s and women’s rankings, respectively, have made them favourites to win the Australian Open — dubbed the Happy Slam for its celebratory atmosphere — this time around too.
Sinner claimed his first grand slam title a year ago in Melbourne while Sabalenka is
aiming for the three-peat this month.
But will the sailing be really that smooth for the duo? Perhaps not. For between them and the trophy lies a bevy of opponents who, on their day, can derail the best-laid plans of the two champions.
The draw has been somewhat kind to Sinner since he won’t face his two biggest threats — third seed Carlos Alcaraz or seventh seed Novak Djokovic — until the final as both feature in the bottom half of the draw.
But No. 1 Sabalenka has been dealt a tough draw as she attempts to become the first woman to complete an Australian Open hat-trick since Martina Hingis did so 26 years ago.
Sabalenka opens against former major champion Sloane Stephens and may face No.5 seed Qinwen Zheng in the quarter-finals. That would be a replay of last year’s final.
Who would be the top bets to dethrone the champions?
On the men’s side, the first name that comes to mind is that of Alcaraz. The Spanish sensation has won all the other three grand slams and is hungry to add the missing Australian Open trophy to his collection and complete a career
grand slam. Australia has proved tough for the 21-year-old though. In 2023, he missed the tournament due to injury and produced a below-par display last year, losing to Alexander Zverev in the quarters.
Will 2025 be different? Alcaraz would surely hope so.
Then there is Daniil Medvedev, who has reached the final in three of the last four years. He would surely want to add to his lone grand slam title till date — the US Open in 2021.
And when it comes to the Australian Open, or any grand slam for that matter, you can never count Djokovic out
Looking for his record-breaking 25th grand slam title, Djokovic is armed with Andy Murray as coach in his corner. He may be ranked as low as seven, but no one knows how to tackle the pressure of a grand slam tournament like the Serb. He does face a tricky draw, and could meet Alcaraz in the quarters, followed by Zverev and then Sinner.
However, Djokovic, the last of the Big Three still standing, is motivated enough to earn his record-extending 11th title in Melbourne.
In the women’s section, the toughest challenge for Sabalenka will come in the form of No. 2 Iga Swiatek. Iga, with five grand slam titles under her belt, has never won Down Under. Her best showing has been a semi-final run in 2022.
She has been battling a dip in form as well as a doping violation issue — she accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine in November. But her chances for a deep run in Melbourne have been boosted by the fact that Sabalenka and Coco Gauff are in the other half of the draw.
American Gauff, may prove to be a tough challenge for Sabalenka. She ended 2024 in fine form and carried that through to the season-opening United Cup where she led the US to triumph.
Another tough challenger for the title will be Zheng. She made her first grand slam final a year ago at the Australian Open. She followed that up with the Olympic Games singles gold in Paris and then ended the year by reaching the summit clash of the WTA Finals.
- The Australian Open will be telecast live on Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV from Sunday 5.30am IST onwards
