CONGRATULATION
Daniel Medvedev
In the wake of his up and down year 2022, the Russian seems borrowed from the Australian Open in mid-January, with a defeat in the third round.
From ?
A steamroller: 26 matches, 25 victories, only one small defeat!
The former world N.1 has won almost everything, on several continents.
Titled in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai and Miami, he only lacks the grail in Indian Wells, where he can do nothing in the final against Carlos Alcaraz.
Medvedev now has 19 titles to his name in 19 different tournaments.
It remains to be seen if he will be able to triumph on surfaces other than hard, or if he will still disappear from the radar during the months devoted to ocher and grass.
Carlos Alcaraz
Package for the Australian Open, the Spanish prodigy (19) returns to the circuit in mid-February in Buenos Aires where he wins the title by beating Cameron Norrie in the final.
The following week, the Briton took his revenge and deprived him of the coronation in Rio.
Then comes the American tour, where Alcaraz impresses and initially recovers its place as world N.1.
In search of the "Sunshine Double" after his coronation in Indian Wells, he fell in the semi-finals in Miami against an excellent Jannik Sinner and had to give up his throne again to Novak Djokovic.
The year 2023 promises to be grandiose, provided he remains in good health.
Hit in the hand, the protege of Juan Carlos Ferrero has unfortunately announced his package for Monte-Carlo.
This is the fifth major tournament that
Carlos Alcaraz with the Indian Wells Masters 1000 trophy.
Antoine Couvercelle
Read alsoTennis: "Go get the title, I'm behind you", the very classy words of Alcaraz beaten by Sinner
Novak Djokovic
Three contested tournaments, two coronations, a semi-final.
A routine success in Adelaide to attack the year, then the Serb wins his tenth Australian Open, his twenty-second Grand Slam title, a year after being chased out of Melbourne because not vaccinated against Covid-19 .
Beyond this record shared with Rafael Nadal and the rediscovered place of world No.1, “Nole” above all displays a stratospheric level.
On his way, only one set left on the way.
And a few crumbs for his opponents, including Stefanos Tsitsipas, swept away in three sets in the final.
Once again deprived of an American tour for his vaccination choices, Novak Djokovic appeared for the last time in Dubai, where he suffered the law of Daniil Medvedev in the last four.
He approaches the season on clay with appetite.
Read alsoTennis: Djokovic becomes world number 1 again without playing
INCENTIVES
Jannik Sinner
Reaction of pride?
Long considered the greatest hope in world tennis, the Italian (21) is already supplanted by younger than him, in this case Carlos Alcaraz.
In the semi-finals in Indian Wells as in Miami, the two men engaged in two fantastic duels that heralded an enticing rivalry for the coming years.
Sinner wins one.
Eliminated from the Australian Open for the second consecutive year by Stefanos Tsitsipas, the native of San Candido has not yet passed the milestone of the quarter-finals in the Grand Slam.
But he is doing very well in the other tournaments, with a title in Montpellier, a final in Rotterdam, a semi-final in Indian Wells and a final in Miami.
He must now become the winner that his excellent tennis suggests.
Read also“I play better when I am calm”: meeting with Jannik Sinner, the announced rival of Carlos Alcaraz
Sebastian Korda
The son of former Czech player Petr Korda surprised everyone at the Australian Open with an excellent level of play. Daniil Medvedev fell in the third round, the American was forced to retire during his quarter-final against Karen Khachanov.
Just before reaching Melbourne, Sebastian Korda climbed to the final in Adelaide where he posed serious problems for Novak Djokovic.
The 26th player in the world does not take part in the American tour for a wrist injury but should be recovered for the games on clay.
His elegant tennis is promising for the rest of the season.
Sebastian Korda at the Australian Open.
Jason Heidrich/Icon Sportswire
Read alsoAustralian Open: discovering Sebastian Korda, the heartthrob of Daniil Medvedev
Tommy Paul
Nobody expects him in the last four of the Australian Open, where he resists Novak Djokovic for a set before collapsing.
Since then, a final in Acapulco and two 8th in Masters 1000 are to be credited to the 25-year-old American.
Now 18th player in the world, the one who regularly returns to help his mother, a farmer in New Jersey, continues his quiet ascent.
Tommy Paul takes the steps one by one, slowly but surely.
His game based on risk-taking and his relaxed attitude bring a welcome breath of fresh air to the circuit.
It is up to him to maintain the right level of discipline to bring to fruition this "
outstanding natural tennis talent
" of which his compatriot Reilly Opelka speaks.
Read alsoAustralian Open: Tommy Paul, the farmer with a quiet ascent
Lucas Van Assche and Arthur Son
The two 18-year-old Frenchmen had faced each other in the final of Roland-Garros junior in 2021. They have not stopped progressing since.
Winner of two consecutive Challengers (Pau and San Remo), Lucas Van Assche entered the top 100, of which he is the youngest member.
He is already guaranteed to appear directly in the final draw at Roland-Garros.
Arthur Fils (118th) is very close, after reaching the semi-finals in Montpellier and Marseille.
Behind the untouchable Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune, Van Assche and Son are respectively 3rd and 4th in the ranking of players born after 2003. Cocorico!
CAN DO BETTER
Andrey Rublev
Like Jannik Sinner, the Russian does not manage to pass the milestone of the quarter-finals in Grand Slam.
Except that he is already 25 years old.
Glass ceiling ?
Difficult to blame him for his defeat in Melbourne against an untouchable Djokovic.
But apart from a final in Dubai lost against his compatriot Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev did not really shine in the other tournaments at the start of the season, always beaten by players lower ranked than him (Cameron Norrie, Jiri Lehecka, Alex de Minaur , Thanasi Kokkinakis…).
He could get back on clay.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
If he reached the Australian Open final for the first time in his career, the Greek did not produce anything substantial afterwards.
Released in the 8th in Rotterdam by Jannik Sinner, he took the door very early also in Indian Wells (1st round against Jordan Thompson) and Miami (8th final against Karen Khachanov).
Poor performance probably due to discomfort in the shoulder.
The world No.3 also denounces a problem with the quality of the balls: “I
think that the biggest problem on the circuit this year is the constant change of balls,
he explains at a press conference in Miami.
We talk about it between players.
Balls should stay the same in most tournaments, especially on hard courts.
It benefits us all and protects us from injury.
He is now entering a period that is usually prosperous for him, that of the ocher tournaments.
Starting with Monte-Carlo, where he is a double title holder.
Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas after their hard-fought Australian Open final in January.
Sydney Low
WARNINGS
Matteo Berrettini
One of the stars of the Netflix series “Breaking Point” is having a disastrous start to the season.
Eliminated in the first round of the three most important tournaments (Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami) and in the quarter-finals of the two others he played in (Acapulco, Phoenix), the tall Roman (1.96m) is the penalty.
What's more on a surface, the hard, which he is supposed to appreciate.
Immediate consequence in the standings: Berrettini (22nd) is only the third best Italian behind Sinner (9th) and Musetti (22nd).
The Wimbledon finalist in 2021 will have to pull himself together if he wants to taste the joys of the second weeks in Grand Slam again.
Felix Auger Aliassime
A record time for the number of finals played without a title, the Canadian unlocked his counter in 2022 with four trophies.
But these promises are struggling to be confirmed at the start of the season.
There were certainly two defeats against the scarecrow Medvedev (Rotterdam and Doha) and one against Carlos Alcaraz (Indian Wells), but the others are less justified.
The 7th player in the world is stagnating.
Frustrating.
Like Nadal and Alcaraz, he has unfortunately just given up on Monte-Carlo.
Read also“I am aiming for a first Grand Slam title”: before the Australian Open, the secrets of Félix Auger-Aliassime
Felix Auger-Aliassime during the Indian Wells tournament.
George Walker/Icon Sportswire
Casper Ruud
He too is one of the players highlighted by the Netlix series who are struggling in this first quarter.
A small 2nd round at the Australian Open, a round of 32 in Indian Wells as in Miami… Without a doubt the decompression of an exceptional year 2022, marked by four major finals: two in Grand Slam (Roland-Garros, US Open), one at the Miami Masters 1000 and another at the Nitto ATP Finals.
The Norwegian came close to the place of world No.1 and could lose very big if he continues the momentum of this start to the 2023 season.
