9 of the last 11 Australian Open were shared between these two greats. They are also the two highest winners of this Grand Slam.
When the Australian government declined the visa of Novak Djokovic, it became certain that the Rod Laver Arena will miss its two greatest entertainers, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Given their dominance in the last 15 years in the Australian Open, it almost feels like ‘What’s an Australian Open without Novak and Roger?.’
But another great of the game, Rafael Nadal, can take the chance to seize this moment and make it all about him this time.
The brilliance of Djokovic and Federer has not let anyone shine in the Australian Open. Nadal is also a victim of it. He managed to win this title only once back in 2009.
But this time, with none of them on sight, Nadal can take his chance to grab, not one but two glorious achievements, both of which will cement his greatness to a new high.
He currently is the joint highest grand slam winner with 20 titles to his name along with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
If he can win this Australian Open, he will not only be the highest grand slam winner but also be the first men’s singles player ever to win more than 20 grand slam titles, something that was not done even before the open era.
However, winning this Australian Open would be special for Nadal due to another reason.
In the history of Tennis after the open era, only 5 players have managed to win the career slam.
Career slam means winning all four grand slams at least once. They are Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Nadal won the US Open in 2013 which was his 2nd US open title.
Since then, he has been chasing a record - the chance to be the second player to win all the grand slams at least twice. He just needed another Australian Open for that rare feat, which he never achieved, thanks to Djokovic and Federer.
Well, he has his own ground to take revenge as well, as he didn’t let both of them achieve this feat since 2015 and 2009 respectively, because of his dominance in the French Open.
This deadlock was finally broken in the last French Open, the triumph of which made Djokovic the first player ever to win every grand slam twice.
Now it’s Nadal’s turn. He can finally join Djokovic in the ‘two career slam club’ by winning this Australian Open, which would add up to his tally of 13 French Open, 4 US Open and 2 Wimbledon.
However, considering age and form, he is far from being a favourite this time. Danil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev should be considered favourites this time along with Andriy Rublev.
He might have to face rising star Hubert Hurkacz in the 4th round, Zverev in the Quarters, Matteo Berrettini in the semis and Medvedev in finals as per the draw.
It’s safe to say that things won’t be as easy as it seems due to the absence of the two big names. However, never say never to Nadal.
