13
19
3
0
0
26
7
1
0
1
31
3
1
0
0
The first grand slam of the year begins in Melbourne on January 16, with the sport’s biggest stars set to go head-to-head
Australian Open?
Australian Open
French Open
Wimbledon
US Open
Djokovic returns to second home
Novak Djokovic – the most successful player in Australian Open history – is likely to start the tournament as favourite once again
Djokovic (5)
Nadal (2)
Medvedev (7)
Tsitsipas (4)
Zverev (12)
Dimitrov (28)
Carreno Busta (13)
Auger-Aliassime (6)
Cilic (17)
Berrettini (16)
Who will win the
Nine-time men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic is playing in Australia for the first time since last year’s deportation saga, while women’s number one Iga Swiatek is aiming to win her fourth major at the age of just 21
Men
9
15
20
26
4
3
7
6
Similarly, recent results suggest that top players are less susceptible to an early exit compared with the other three grand slams
Upsets are rare
Only 14 players ranked between 1 and 10 at the start of the tournament have lost in the first round since 2013, the most recent being John Isner and Daria Kasatkina in 2019
Back the best players
Based on data from the past decade, the Australian Open is one of the easier grand slams to predict
It comes very early in the year, with the majority of players having plenty of time to prepare in the off-season
As a result, the leading players tend to do well – eight of the past 10 men’s and women’s champions have been ranked in the top five
Australian Open
French Open
Wimbledon
US Open
11
15
15
11
3
9
12
7
Women
Men
Average ranking of finalists
Women
The 35-year-old has an impressive 94% win rate here over the past 10 years
94.3%
83.7%
76.0%
75.0%
73.1%
73.0%
71.4%
70.0%
70.0%
69.2%
Number of 1st round losses by top 10 players
Highest Australian Open win percentage among 2023 seeded men
(50/53)
(41/49)
(19/25)
(15/20)
(19/26)
(27/37)
(15/21)
(7/10)
(21/30)
(9/13)
(2023 seeding in brackets)
On the women’s side, Victoria Azarenka – champion in 2012 and 2013 but seeded 25th this year – has the best record across the past decade
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World number one Iga Swiatek made the semi-final in 2021 and has a respectable win rate in Australia of 75 per cent
Azarenka (25)
Collins (13)
Mertens (28)
Keys (10)
Swiatek (1)
Pegula (3)
Pliskova (30)
Krejcikova (21)
Anisimova (22)
Kvitova (15)
(2023 seeding in brackets)
(21/27)
(13/17)
(16/21)
(25/33)
(12/16)
(8/11)
(22/31)
(6/9)
(6/9)
(15/24)
77.8%
76.5%
76.2%
75.8%
75.0%
72.7%
71.0%
66.7%
66.7%
62.5%
Highest Australian Open win percentage among 2023 seeded women
No need to worry about fatigue
Rafael Nadal’s history-making triumph in 2022 at the age of 35 was not unprecedented, with his great friend and rival Roger Federer having won aged 35 and 36 in 2017 and 2018
This is underlined by the average age of male grand slam winners since 2013, which is oldest at the Australian Open (scheduled at the start of the year) and youngest at the US Open (at the end)
The timing of the tournament means that players are fresh and unburdened by the physical and mental toll of regular competition
Age of men's champions at the grand slams
Years
Youngest
Average
Oldest
Age of women's champions at the grand slams
Youngest
Average
Oldest
Years
Likewise, older women’s players have enjoyed plenty of success in Melbourne
Serena Williams lifted the trophy aged 33 and 35 in 2015 and 2017, with the latter triumph proving to be her last at one of the four majors
13
19
3
0
0
26
7
1
0
1
31
3
1
0
0
2022 was a year of change on the ATP and WTA Tours
in 2023?
Who could dominate
On the men’s side, 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz lifted his maiden major at the US Open and ascended to world number one in the process
Nadal
Auger-Aliassime
Alcaraz
Djokovic
Rublev
Meanwhile, the Polish 21-year-old Iga Swiatek is threatening to dominate the women’s game, having become the first player to win multiple grand slams in the same calendar year since Angelique Kerber in 2016
Men’s grand slam winners since 2013
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No need to worry about fatigue
Rafael Nadal’s - history-making triumph in 2022 at the age of 35 was not unprecedented, with his great friend and rival Roger Federer having won aged 35 and 36 in 2017 and 2018
This is underlined by the average age of male grand slam winners since 2013, which is oldest at the Australian Open (scheduled at the start of the year) and youngest at the US Open (at the end)
The timing of the tournament allows means that players are fresh and unburdened by the physical and mental tour of regular competition
22-year-old Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime could be one to watch in 2023, having finished last year in fine form including a 16-match unbeaten run
Claiming one of the game’s biggest prizes requires six to seven match wins in a row, which is difficult to accomplish given the level of competition on both tours
Rafael Nadal managed the longest win streak among ATP players in 2022, starting the year with 20 successive victories
Alcaraz was the third first-time grand slam winner in the past nine events – there were just two in 30 tournaments before that
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Djokovic
Wawrinka
Djokovic
Djokovic
Federer
Federer
Djokovic
Djokovic
Djokovic
Nadal
Nadal
Nadal
Wawrinka
Djokovic
Nadal
Nadal
Nadal
Nadal
Djokovic
Nadal
Murray
Djokovic
Djokovic
Murray
Federer
Djokovic
Djokovic
Cancelled
Djokovic
Djokovic
Nadal
Cilic
Djokovic
Wawrinka
Nadal
Djokovic
Nadal
Thiem
Medvedev
Alcaraz
Australian Open
French Open
Wimbledon
US Open
She has twice as many ranking points as her nearest challenger – Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur
Who saves their best for the big events?
Despite missing a number of events in the United States and Australia due to his vaccination status, Novak Djokovic ended 2022 with the highest win percentage in the biggest ATP tournaments
Djokovic
Alcaraz
Nadal
Zverev
Kyrgios
Sinner
Tsitsipas
Fritz
Ruud
Berrettini
(27/31)
(35/43)
(31/39)
(21/28)
(21/28)
(31/43)
(33/46)
(27/38)
(30/43)
(11/16)
87.1%
81.4%
79.5%
75.0%
75.0%
72.1%
71.7%
71.1%
69.8%
68.8%
Highest win percentage at top-tier ATP events in 2022
Swiatek
Halep
Jabeur
Pegula
Niemeier
Azarenka
Garcia
Collins
Bouzkova
Rybakina
(48/53)
(24/32)
(29/40)
(36/50)
(7/10)
(20/29)
(22/32)
(17/25)
(17/25)
(23/34)
90.6%
75.0%
72.5%
72.0%
70.0%
69.0%
68.8%
68.0%
68.0%
67.6%
However, Djokovic was usurped as the most dominant player across both tours by the aforementioned Swiatek, who won 48 of her 53 matches at top-tier tournaments
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Azarenka
Li
Williams
Kerber
Williams
Wozniacki
Osaka
Kenin
Osaka
Barty
Australian Open
French Open
Wimbledon
US Open
Williams
Sharapova
Williams
Muguruza
Ostapenko
Halep
Barty
Swiatek
Krejcikova
Swiatek
Bartoli
Kvitova
Williams
Williams
Muguruza
Kerber
Halep
Cancelled
Barty
Rybakina
Williams
Williams
Pennetta
Kerber
Stephens
Osaka
Andreescu
Osaka
Raducanu
Swiatek
Women’s grand slam winners since 2013
The Serb won 87% of matches across Masters 1000 events, the ATP Finals and the grand slams
Highest win percentage at top-tier WTA events in 2022
Who can string results together?
Longest ATP win streaks in 2022
20
16
14
13
13
Includes all tour-level matches
Once again, however, Swiatek outperformed everyone else with a staggering 37-match winning run between the Qatar Open and a third-round loss at Wimbledon
The Pole’s dominant form saw her capture six titles (Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome and Roland Garros) in just over three months
Swiatek
Pera
Garcia
Samsonova
Haddad Maia
Longest WTA win streaks in 2022
Includes all tour-level matches
37
16
13
13
12
Winning the important events also means beating the best players in the world
Who has the edge over their rivals?
Since 2020, only 17 players across the ATP and WTA Tours have a winning record against top-10 opponents in the biggest tournaments
Djokovic and Nadal unsurprisingly feature in the men’s list, as does Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, who often saves his best tennis for the
big stage
ATP players with a winning record v top-10 opposition at top-tier events since 2020
Djokovic
Thiem
Alcaraz
Medvedev
Coric
Rune
Nadal
Kyrgios
(27/35)
(8/12)
(9/14)
(16/28)
(4/7)
(6/11)
(13/24)
(7/13)
77.1%
66.7%
64.3%
57.1%
57.1%
54.5%
54.2%
53.8%
Minimum five matches
Swiatek leads the WTA Tour in head-to-heads against the top 10 since 2020
Caroline Garcia and Maria Sakkari are the only other players in the current top 10 with winning records
Swiatek
Teichmann
Muchova
Cornet
Martic
Pliskova
Fernandez
Garcia
Sakkari
(17/22)
(5/7)
(5/7)
(4/6)
(3/5)
(6/10)
(3/5)
(8/14)
(12/23)
77.3%
71.4%
71.4%
66.7%
60.0%
60.0%
60.0%
57.1%
52.2%
WTA players with a winning record v top-10 opposition at top-tier events since 2020
Minimum five matches
