Tennis News: Novak Djokovic, United Cup and Australian Open

We are just days away from the 2024 tennis season beginning. The United Cup, a mixed-gender event where no ATP and WTA points are awarded but players play for home and country, starts this weekend. Players such as Novak Djokovic will participate. More on that in a minute.

The Brisbane International begins on December 31 and that tournament will mark its return after a three-year absence but will also feature the return of Rafael Nadal. Other players involved include Naomi Osaka, Andy Murray, Victoria Azarenka, and Holger Rune. This will be must-watch tennis for Nadal alone.

The year's first Grand Slam gets underway in less than three weeks in Melbourne. The Australian Open will take place from January 14 through 28. This is the first time the major has been played over 15 days instead of 14. This is supposed to cut back on matches that do not end until the early hours in Australia. Here is some more news connected to the above.

Novak Djokovic plays at the United Cup but when is it?

The United Cup is like a mix between the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup as both men's and women's players help march their countries to hopeful victory. This is the second year of the event and the tournament is held in Perth and Sydney, Australia from December 29 through January 7. There is a group stage followed by the knock-out semifinal ahead of the final.

Novak Djokovic will take part for Serbia, but other players include Iga Swiatek for Poland, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari for Greece, Casper Ruud for Norway, Jessica Pegula for the United States, and Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez for Canada, among many others. The order of play is as follows:

• Friday, December 29: Spain versus Brazil and Great Britain versus Australia (both Perth)
• Saturday, December 30: Czech Republic versus China, and Poland versus Brazil (both Perth), Netherlands versus Norway, and Italy versus Germany (both Sydney)
• Sunday, December 31: USA versus Great Britain, and China versus Serbia (both Perth), Canada versus Chile (Sydney)
• Monday, January 1: Poland versus Spain, and the USA versus Australia (both Perth), Croatia versus Norway, and France versus Germany (both Sydney)
• Tuesday, January 2: Czech Republic versus Serbia (Perth), Greece versus Chile, and Croatia versus Netherlands (both Sydney)
• Wednesday, January 3: Perth quarterfinals, France versus Italy, and Greece versus Canada (both Sydney)
• Thursday, January 4: Sydney quarterfinal
• Friday, January 5: Sydney quarterfinal
• Saturday, January 6: Semifinals
• Sunday, January 7: Final

The Australian Open need to know

As stated above, the Australian Open will run for the first time for 15 days. In 2024, the event will begin (post-qualifying) on Sunday, January 14, and run through Sunday, January 28. The draw date has not been set yet but is expected to occur on Thursday, January 11. Rafael Nadal will be unseeded at the tournament so he could conceivably be in the same quarter as Novak Djokovic.

You can watch the Australian Open on Eurosport across Europe, Stan Sport in Australia, Tennis TV most everywhere (with a subscription), and the ESPN league of networks, including the Tennis Channel, in the United States. Most matches will likely be on replay in the US, however, due to the time difference. This is the order of play:

• Monday, January 8 – Thursday, January 11: Qualifying
• Sunday, January 14: Men’s and women’s first round singles
• Monday, January 15: Men’s and women’s first round singles
• Tuesday, January 16: Men’s and women’s first round singles
• Wednesday, January 17: Men’s and women’s second round singles
• Thursday, January 18: Men’s and women’s second round singles
• Friday, January 19: Men’s and women’s third round singles
• Saturday, January 20: Men’s and women’s third round singles
• Sunday, January 21: Men’s and women’s fourth round singles
• Monday, January 22: Men’s and women’s fourth round singles
• Tuesday, January 23: Men’s and women’s singles quarterfinals
• Wednesday, January 24: Men’s and women’s singles quarterfinals
• Thursday, January 25: Women’s singles semifinals
• Friday, January 26: Men’s singles semifinals
• Saturday, January 27: Women’s singles final, men’s doubles final
• Sunday, January 28: Men’s singles final, women’s doubles final

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