Top seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal will start his quest for a third Australian Open title against British lefty Jack Draper. Should Rafa advance, he could potentially face either Brandon Nakashima or Mackenzie McDonald in the second round.
Rafa’s projected seeded opponents would be No. 31 seed Yoshihito Nishioka in the third round, No. 16 seed Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round, No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev in the quarters and No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semis.
Projected quarter-finals:
- Rafa Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev
- Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Felix Auger-Aliassime
- Novak Djokovic v Andrey Rublev
- Casper Ruud v Taylor Fritz
Rafa’s projected Australian Open path:
- First round: Jack Draper
- Second round: Brandon Nakashima / Mackenzie McDonald
- Third round: [31] Yoshihito Nishioka
- Fourth round: [17] Frances Tiafoe / [18] Karen Khachanov
- Quarter-final: [7] Daniil Medvedev / [10] Hurbert Hurkacz
- Semifinal: [3] Stefanos Tsitsipas / [6] Felix Auger-Aliassime
- Final: [4] Novak Djokovic / [2] Casper Ruud / [8] Taylor Fritz.
Rafa is bidding to clinch a 23rd Grand Slam title of his career and his third in Melbourne.
All the best of luck in the world to you, Rafa! VAMOS!
This is a very tough draw….
Rafa is the defeding champion and should go into this match agsinst Draper playing confidently and very aggressive tennis . I don’t want Draper thinking even for a second that he can win this match by taking it to Rafa . I think Rafa will be up to the challenge and this win will propel even more wins and better play . Physicaly fit and healthy counts for everything .