{"id":407842,"date":"2024-01-09T03:31:01","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T03:31:01","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2024-01-09T03:31:01","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T03:31:01","slug":"djokovic-faces-threats-to-melbourne-reign-as-australian-open-nears-tennis-news-times-of-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/blog\/2024\/01\/09\/djokovic-faces-threats-to-melbourne-reign-as-australian-open-nears-tennis-news-times-of-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Djokovic faces threats to Melbourne reign as Australian Open nears | Tennis News &#8211; Times of India"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-106652748,imgsize-39592.cms\" \/><\/p>\n<div>NEW DELHI: <!-- -->Novak Djokovic<!-- -->, the red-hot favorite at the <!-- -->Australian Open<!-- -->, is set to face formidable challenges as he aims for an unprecedented 25th <!-- -->Grand Slam<!-- --> title. <br \/>The Serbian tennis maestro, who clinched his record-extending 10th <a href=\"https:\/\/www.happytrips.com\/topic\/melbourne\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" rel=\"noopener nofollow noreferrer\" target=\"\" frmappuse=\"1\">Melbourne<\/a> crown last year, is in the pursuit of further glory. However, a wrist problem and the emergence of young talent, <!-- -->Carlos Alcaraz<!-- -->, pose potential threats to Djokovic&#8217;s reign.<br \/>Djokovic, 36, secured the French and US Open titles in 2023 but faced a setback with a loss to Alcaraz in a gripping Wimbledon final. Alcaraz, now 20, arrives at the Australian Open as a two-time major champion and the world number two, making him a significant contender in the tournament.<br \/>In contrast, <!-- -->Rafael Nadal<!-- -->, Djokovic&#8217;s long-time rival, has withdrawn from the Australian Open due to a muscle tear, further reducing the veteran&#8217;s chances of returning to the top of the sport. Alcaraz, however, chose to skip the warm-up tournaments, leaving his 2024 form a mystery.<br \/>Djokovic faced challenges in the lead-up to the Australian Open, dropping a set to Jiri Lehecka at the United Cup and losing to Australian Alex de Minaur. The losses ended a 43-match win streak in Australia, and Djokovic received treatment on his right wrist during both matches.<br \/>Despite the setbacks, Djokovic remains confident, stating, &#8220;I think I have enough time to get myself in the right shape for the Australian Open, and that&#8217;s what matters the most at this point.&#8221;<br \/>Djokovic, with his unparalleled Grand Slam record, aims to break more records and make further history in the sport. His 20-0 record in semi-finals and finals at Melbourne Park adds to the formidable legacy he brings to the Australian Open.<br \/>The absence of Nadal could ease Djokovic&#8217;s path, but other contenders, including Daniil Medvedev, last year&#8217;s finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Andrey Rublev, are poised to challenge for the prestigious title.<br \/>The Australian Open begins on Sunday, with Djokovic facing the dual challenge of overcoming his recent struggles and fending off a pool of talented competitors.<br \/><span class=\"strong\">(With inputs from AFP)<\/span><\/div>\n<p><script>!(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {\n    function loadFBEvents(isFBCampaignActive) {\n      if (!isFBCampaignActive) {\n        return;\n      }\n      (function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {\n        if (f.fbq) return;\n        n = f.fbq = function() {\n          n.callMethod ? n.callMethod(...arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments);\n        };\n        if (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;\n        n.push = n;\n        n.loaded = !0;\n        n.version = '2.0';\n        n.queue = [];\n        t = b.createElement(e);\n        t.async = !0;\n        t.defer = !0;\n        t.src = v;\n        s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n        s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);\n      })(f, b, e, 'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js', n, t, s);\n      fbq('init', '593671331875494');\n      fbq('track', 'PageView');\n    };<\/p>\n<p>    function loadGtagEvents(isGoogleCampaignActive) {\n      if (!isGoogleCampaignActive) {\n        return;\n      }\n      var id = document.getElementById('toi-plus-google-campaign');\n      if (id) {\n        return;\n      }\n      (function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {\n        t = b.createElement(e);\n        t.async = !0;\n        t.defer = !0;\n        t.src = v;\n        t.id = 'toi-plus-google-campaign';\n        s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n        s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);\n      })(f, b, e, 'https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=AW-877820074', n, t, s);\n    };<\/p>\n<p>    function loadSurvicateJs(allowedSurvicateSections = []){\n      const section =  window.location.pathname.split('\/')[1]\n      const isHomePageAllowed = window.location.pathname === '\/' && allowedSurvicateSections.includes('homepage')<\/p>\n<p>      if(allowedSurvicateSections.includes(section) || isHomePageAllowed){\n        (function(w) {\n          var s = document.createElement('script');\n          s.src=\"https:\/\/survey.survicate.com\/workspaces\/0be6ae9845d14a7c8ff08a7a00bd9b21\/web_surveys.js\";\n          s.async = true;\n          var e = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];\n          e.parentNode.insertBefore(s, e);\n        })(window);\n      }<\/p>\n<p>    }<\/p>\n<p>    window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {};\n    var TimesApps = window.TimesApps;\n    TimesApps.toiPlusEvents = function(config) {\n      var isConfigAvailable = \"toiplus_site_settings\" in f && \"isFBCampaignActive\" in f.toiplus_site_settings && \"isGoogleCampaignActive\" in f.toiplus_site_settings;\n      var isPrimeUser = window.isPrime;\n      if (isConfigAvailable && !isPrimeUser) {\n        loadGtagEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isGoogleCampaignActive);\n        loadFBEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isFBCampaignActive);\n        loadSurvicateJs(f.toiplus_site_settings.allowedSurvicateSections);\n      } else {\n        var JarvisUrl=\"https:\/\/jarvis.indiatimes.com\/v1\/feeds\/toi_plus\/site_settings\/643526e21443833f0c454615?db_env=published\";\n        window.getFromClient(JarvisUrl, function(config){\n          if (config) {\n            loadGtagEvents(config?.isGoogleCampaignActive);\n            loadFBEvents(config?.isFBCampaignActive);\n            loadSurvicateJs(config?.allowedSurvicateSections);\n          }\n        })\n      }\n    };\n  })(\n    window,\n    document,\n    'script',\n  );<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/tennis\/australian-open\/djokovic-faces-threats-to-melbourne-reign-as-australian-open-nears\/articleshow\/106652750.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Novak Djokovic, the red-hot favorite at the Australian Open, is set to face formidable challenges as he aims for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title. The Serbian tennis maestro, who clinched his record-extending 10th Melbourne crown last year, is in the pursuit of further glory. However, a wrist problem and the emergence [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407842"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407842\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}