‘Djokovic is the man to beat at Australian Open,’ says Somdev Devvarman; ‘Nadal hasn’t found his form yet’

Exactly a year after the Covid vaccination drama which resulted in him getting deported from the country, Novak Djokovic is back in Australia, this time on a mission to not just claim an unprecedented 10th Australian Open but also level Rafael Nadal in the Grand Slam tally. And with the Serb kicking off his Australian summer with a title in Adelaide 250 last week, former India No.1 Somdev Devvarman has already put his weight behind Djokovic for Australian Open 2023, hailing him the “man to beat”.

Having claimed his ninth title at the Melbourne Park in 2021, Djokovic was denied the opportunity to defend his title at Australian Open last January owing to his Covid vaccination status and the then rules of the Australian government. He was deported from the country and handed a three-year visa ban.

Djokovic managed to overturn the ban late in 2022 and began his 2023 season Down Under with a win against Sebastian Korda to grab his 92nd career title in Adelaide International.

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“All the attention will be on Novak. The way things unfolded in 2022 with him getting to Australia and not being allowed it and then the entire saga. Also, the way it ended. And who took advantage of that situation? Rafa Nadal. He is the one who won that Slam, for the second time, in a dramatic fashion as well. Despite Rafa being the defending champion and the No.1 seed, he has found a way to downplay the situation like he so masterfully did so many times in his career. But yes all the attention will be on Novak because he is the player with the most amount of success in Australia,” said Somdev during a virtual interaction on Wednesday, organised by Sony Sports.

The 37-year-old also brushed aside Djokovic’s injury concern which had troubled him in the practice match against Daniil Medvedev as well earlier this week and at the Adelaide event, saying that with the way 2022 unfolded for him, the 21-time Grand Slam winner will be more determined to respond to it with a 10th title in Australian Open.

“It always is admirable with the way he shows up at the start of every season. What we have seen so far is phenomenal. He has won a title in Adelaide. There are rumours about his injury. People tend to forget that he is 35 years old. But in terms of injury struggles, he is in much better place than Rafa. The fact that he missed last year, is not the No.1 in the world, did not get points for Wimbledon and wasn’t allowed to play in US Open, all of that put together all eyes will be on him and in my opinion, he is the man to beat,” he added.

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‘Rafa for me is the ultimate warrior’

Nadal, however, hasn’t had the perfect start to the season, losing both his matches at the United Cup after winning the opening set. On Thursday, he also lost a practice match against Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets.

Somdev believes that if the Spaniard has not injury concerns, he isn’t too worried about the two defeats although he admitted that the results might have boosted the “self confidence” of his opponents in the draw.

“He has not found his form. And if Rafa is healthy, the more matches he gets the better he starts playing. So I would say lack of matches…but again it will be best of five sets and he knows how to play that, better than anyone in the world other than one person that is Novak. Remember 2022, when we came in we did not know what to expect from Rafa. And then suddenly, when everyone is counting him out, he wins Melbourne 250 and then at Melbourne Park he takes the world by storm. Rafa for me is the ultimate warrior. The guy goes out there every single time and regardless of his situation, he always tries to step up and makes life incredibly difficult for his opponents. If he is healthy, the fact that he lost two matches at the start of the season, won’t really be a big part in that because he will start winning soon. But the concern is do those defeats tell the world that he is beatable? Yes. Self confidence in younger players who have come very close with him will start to feel that may be they can edge Rafa. Only time will tell.”

[Watch the LIVE coverage of Australian Open 2023 on Sony Sports Ten 2 and Sony Sports Ten 5 channels starting from 16th January 2023 at 5:30 am IST.]