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Djokovic Australian Open 2023 – can he win it? What are the odds? How does his draw look? Your questions are answered within.
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Novak Djokovic Australian Open 2023 Odds
Introducing the nine-time Australian Open champion, Novak Djokovic. As one of the most famous names in tennis of all time, you are almost certainly familiar with this legendary Serbian. Many regard Djokovic as the GOAT of the game, and with 21 Grand Slams in his locker, there is certainly some substance to these claims. And as we move closer to the 2023 Australian Open, Djokovic is the top favourite as reflected in these odds:
With odds of 1.22 to win the tournament the bookies clearly believe that Novak Djokovic will take the title. To be honest, we believe that he will too if he stays healthy, especially with the absence of the world number one, Carlos Alcaraz. We can’t see anyone, not even Tsitsipas, stopping Djokovic at his most successful Grand Slam in 2023. So while the 1.22 odds are crazy low, they are somewhat justified.
Upcoming match vs Tsitsipas – Djokovic Australian Open 2023
For a nine-time champion, it’s hard to believe that Novak Djokovic is only the 4th seed at the Australian Open. In fact, if Alcaraz hadn’t pulled out, he would have been the 5th seed. However, as the number 4 seed, he’s still been given a decent draw and at least in the first few rounds he faces opponents he should breeze through.
The ‘King of Melbourne’ has a perfect record in terms of Australian Open final appearances – 9 wins out of 9. Djokovic has beaten top 10 opponents in 8 of those finals and we firmly believe that he will maintain this record and make it 10 titles from 10 finals. Nole just broke Agassi’s record for most consecutive Australian Open wins, with his semifinal win he now has 27 wins in a row in Melbourne. He also won all of the last 9 matchups against Tsitsipas, including 4 wins in 2022, to lead the head-to-head 10:2.
All this, added to the amazing form Djokovic hit from round 4 onward, makes us believe that he will not only win the title again but he has a very good chance to do it quickly and in straight sets. Djokovic became only the third man ever to lose 20 games or less in the last 3 matches before the final (round 4, quarterfinals, semifinals) in Melbourne.
To add to all that we must stress that Djokovic knows how to elevate his displays even further against top opponents. He hasn’t been beaten in Australia by a top 5 rival since 2014!
Djokovic’s Australian Open – Recent Form
Given his age and experience, Novak Djokovic doesn’t tend to go crazy in terms of the volume of matches ahead of Grand Slams. Take Wimbledon 2022 as an example, he didn’t play a single match on grass prior to the tournament. And he still won the thing! As for the warm-up matches ahead of the Australian Open, he did play one tournament, which he won, of course.
Here are the last five matches that were all played in that event:
- Djokovic vs Korda – won – 6-7, 7-6, 6-4
- Djokovic vs Medvedev – won – 6-3, 6-4
- Djokovic vs Shapovalov – won – 6-3, 6-4
- Djokovic vs Halys – won – 7-6, 7-6
- Djokovic vs Lestienne – won – 6-3, 6-2
As displayed here, Novak Djokovic has enjoyed a flawless build-up to the Australian Open this year. He lost just one set at the Adelaide International last week, and he actually saved a match point in the final to beat Korda. Having watched his matches, we can confirm that he was playing great tennis over the course of the week.
Adding to that, he dismantled the second favourite to win the Australian Open, Daniil Medvedev.
Djokovic Australian Open 2023 Results
Djokovic vs Carballes Baena – Won – 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 (2023 Australia Open 1st Round)
- Djokovic vs Couacaud – Won – 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-0 (2023 Australian Open 2nd Round)
- Djokovic vs Dimitrov – Won – 7-6 (7), 6-3, 6-4 (2023 Australian Open 3rd Round)
- Djokovic vs De Minaur – Won – 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 (2023 Australian Open 4th Round)
- Djokovic vs Rublev – Won – 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 (2023 Australian Open quarterfinals)
- Djokovic vs Paul – Won – 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 (2023 Australian Open semifinals)
In the first 3 rounds, the first 2 against very modest opponents, Djokovic has made slow starts and had issues with his leg early on. It seems as the matches progressed though he was feeling better and certainly playing better.
As many expected his hamstring injury seems to be healing and in round 4 for the first time we witnessed vintage Djokovic. He trashed the last Australian left standing De Minaur in 3 quick sets, allowing to the Aussie only 5 games combined. Djokovic moved great on the court, looked physically untroubled and he himself confessed after the game that it seems his injury worries are behind him.
This was officially confirmed in the quarterfinal against the number 5 seed Rublev. Djokovic elevated his display further in this match and again won quickly in straight sets, dropping just 7 games. He never got his serve broken in this match against a top 10 opponent.
Djokovic’s march continued with a straight set win in the semis against the unseeded Paul. The Serb had problems only in the first set when he also needed a medical timeout. However, once this set was won 7-5 he never looked back and dropped just 3 more games in the next 2 sets. Djokovic has now become the only player ever to win 27 consecutive Australian Open matches. He’s also the only player to win 9 out of 9 Australian Open finals. Will it be 10 out of 10?
Djokovic Injury update: Hamstring issues subsided and looking fine
Although Novak Djokovic has had a couple of major injuries in the past, usually, he doesn’t experience too many issues that impact his ability to perform at his best. With that said, he did experience a bit of a hamstring problem during the Adelaide International. However, he subsequently played the remainder of his matches and looked to be moving fine.
He has recently played in an exhibition match at the Australian Open with Nick Kyrgios too. And while he did have his hamstring strapped, it didn’t seem that he was struggling too much with the injury. Bear in mind Novak Djokovic has been injured during Grand Slams and still won the tournament, as seen at the 2021 Australian Open.
Further to that Djokovic missed practice right before his round 1 game, sparking fears he could withdraw. He didn’t looked too bothered once the game started though. Still he cut his last practice short too, to give the physio more time to work on his thigh. This suggests that whatever the problem is it’s not going away right now.
The worries regarding Djokovic’s hamstring only grew as both in rounds 2 and 3 he had to ask for medical timeouts after about 90 minutes of play. He cancelled practice again before his round 3 match. However, things seem to be improving regarding Djokovic’s hamstring and in his last 2 games he was pain-free, moving without any issues across the court and looking fully fit for the first time this tournament.
There was slight concern again early in his semifinal against Paul, but he didn’t need much of a treatment and for the best part of an hour after that looked again as fit as ever. Djokovic’s own words were: “I’m 110% ready for the final.”
He seems to have a remarkable ability to recover from any injuries, which obviously bodes well. It seems this has been the issue again and right at the business end of the tournament Djokovic has found a way to overcome his hamstring issue.
Djokovic Performances at Australian Open
Given that Novak Djokovic has won this tournament nine times, he clearly has quite a bit of history in Melbourne. In fact, his first appearance at the Australian Open was actually 18 years ago. At that time, Djokovic was just 17 years of age, and he lost his first round. He subsequently lost in the first round in 2006, yet he boosted his performance majorly to make the 4th round in 2007.
After that, it would be 2008 where Djokovic won his maiden Australian Open against Tsonga. This was actually the first Grand Slam that Djokovic won in his career. Who would have guessed that this would be followed by an extra 20 over the next 14 years? As for wins at the Australian Open, Djokovic was the champion in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, and 2021. He could have taken a 4th title in a row last year if it wasn’t for the saga relating to his immigration problems, but that’s history now.
And we are sure that Novak Djokovic is hopeful of capturing his 10th Australian Open title this year. He is looking strong and in good form going into the tournament. So really, he’s not a man that you would bet against in 2023.
Djokovic Australian Open 2023 Prediction – Champion
Despite missing the 2022 Australian Open, we still believe that Novak Djokovic will take the tournament this year. At 35 years of age, he still looks fitter, stronger, and just generally better than guys who are more than 10 years younger than he is. It’s simply staggering what he is still doing at 35 years old. And if he wins the tournament this year, he will equal Rafael Nadal on 22 Grand Slams.
As for his draw, Djokovic should have a reasonably easy run through to the quarter-finals at least. This is where he will start to face some strong players, but then again, that’s expected in the quarters of a slam. However, we are still talking about Novak Djokovic here. So while his opponents might be great players, usually, Djokovic comes out on top.
That’s why he is our pick to win the tournament in 2023. All that said monitoring the development of his lingering hamstring injury is needed, as with each passing round the worries that Djokovic might not stay healthy for 2 full weeks are growing.
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