MELBOURNE: The 2024 tennis season opened to a busy note \u2013 comebacks after maternity breaks and injury enforced stoppages, momentum shifts and the chatter of an Elite Tour that has gone flat at the onset of the opening Grand Slam of the year \u2013 the Australian Open, starting on Sunday.
Rafael Nadal\u2019s return is stalled, but Naomi Osaka is pushing through.And there are questions only some of which will be answered at Melbourne Park this fortnight.
Novak Djokovic, 24 going on 25? Who can stop the Serb? And how ready is defending champion Aryna Sabalenka for the big stage, where fans can be fickle?
TOI looks at the talking points. <\/span>
Novak Djokovic<\/span>
The 36-year-old has swept everything and everyone before him, records and opponents. In 2023 the Serb took home three majors from four finals, his overall tally stands at a sumptuous 24. This fortnight he\u2019s going for a 11th Australian Open title, a historic 25th major. It would be na\u00efve to read too much into that early loss in the United Cup, in action that stretches across five sets tennis\u2019 mentalist stands supreme. How do you stop the unstoppable?
Carlos Alcaraz <\/span>
He\u2019s 20 and the owner of two major titles, his Wimbledon triumph last summer, where he beat Djokovic in a thriller will be remembered as a Church Road classic. A few weeks later in their rematch, the 20-year-old lost in three sets after having a championship point in the second set tie-break. The Spaniard hasn\u2019t won a title after his glorious run at SW19, but the important thing is he has showed up. Again and again.
Daniil Medvedev <\/span>
The lanky pro enjoyed a solid midseason in 2023 \u2013 from February until the US Open, where he made the final \u2014 after dropping out of the top-10 early in the year. Three successive losses to Sinner, who he played five times last year, appears to have roiled the 27-year-old. The World No.3 Russian, who hasn\u2019t tested his game coming into the opening Grand Slam of 2024, will be looking to carry last year\u2019s mid-season momentum into the majors this year.
Iga Swiatek <\/span>
The 22-year-old is just where she needs to be at the start of the tennis season \u2013 ahead of the pack. The Pole, who won her third Roland Garros title last June, taking her major tally to four, lost in the fourth round of the US Open in September which brought to an end her 75-week reign as the World No.1. Swiatek, who then took the title in the WTA Finals without dropping a set, responded in customary style.
Aryna Sabalenka <\/span>
The Belarusian is the defending champion at Melbourne Park. The 25-year-old followed up her January account by putting herself in position to win three more major titles last year, but unraveled spectacularly, allowing the crowd to weigh on her in the semifinals at Roland Garros (Muchova) and Wimbledon (Jabeur) and in the final in New York (Gauff). Letting the fandom occupy her mind space rent free is erroneous. The World No.2\u2019s mettle will be watched more keenly than her metal.
Naomi Osaka <\/span>
The four-time major winner is 26, her daughter is six-months old. After a 15-month break from tennis the Japanese appears better prepared for the life of a professional athlete. While her raw power and supreme ball striking skills always set her apart, her willingness to take a stand on burning social issues put her on centerstage. All of which became too much for Osaka. It\u2019s not so much the action then, but the reaction that should dictate the pace of her return. <\/div>\n