Australian Open 2020: Top 5 favorites and prediction for men’s singles
By Chris Myson
Australian Open prediction: Novak Djokovic
As the US Open proved, coming in as favorite with a formidable recent record is no guarantee of success.
Novak Djokovic has fallen to shock defeats before, while injury concerns are never far away from players on the ATP Tour, with the Serbian no different after his retirement at Flushing Meadows against Stan Wawrinka.
With the chasing pack looking better than ever, this is likely to be the year where the Big Three’s dominance of the tennis Grand Slam events comes to an end. Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have admitted as much.
But the first Grand Slam of the year may prove a little too early for that seismic change to begin, with the younger players still having just a little more growing to do.
Djokovic comes into the tournament after a tremendous display at the ATP Cup and he is still, as so many call him, a machine.
The 32-year-old’s record against his closest challenger, Rafael Nadal, is one of utter dominance on hard courts, with the emphatic nature of his win in the 2019 final still a surprise one year on.
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It is not the most exciting or outlandish pick you will see ahead of the tournament, but if he remains fit for the next fortnight it is hard to see past Novak Djokovic winning an eighth Australian Open title.