The calendar will soon change to 2023. The next season will start soon after as well the season’s first major. Carlos Alacraz finished 2022 as the number 1 ranked player in the world. However, if there ever was a year there should be an asterisk with some explanation, this one deserves it. It was a very unusual year with vaccine status and war in Ukraine costing some of the top players Major appearances. Thankfully it appears 2023 will be in a more normal spot and have less drama and situations off the court costing players
That’s not to take anything away from Alacraz, he had one of the best teenage years ever as we’ve profiled extensively. For my money, Novak Djokovic is still the king of tennis and sitting atop the sport even if he technically finished the year 5th in the rankings. Between vaccine status and US Open DQ, it’s been a costly last few years of his career. I don’t know how many more years he’s going to play, so it would be nice to see him healthy and in all 4 majors this season.
Major Predictions
Australian Open
Winner Novak Djokovic over Semi-Finals: of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal
Alcaraz unfortunately is injured. He’s expected to be back by the Australian Open, but I would expect the time off and coming back from injury will have some impact. At this level the margins still mater. Djokovic is going to be highly motivated in this one after the situation last season with his visa. Djokovic takes this major down I believe.
French Open
Winner- Rafael Nadal over Semi-Finals: of Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Stefanos Tsitsipas
Nadal will be turning 37 years old when the French Open is played. There seemed to be a little slippage in the last 6 months as well. For me, this might be his last best chance at a major where he is the favorite. He’s still playing at a level it’s hard to bet against the King of Clay who is 112-3 there. I think he will continue to be a threat in the majors for a while but this is one he should be gearing up for.
Wimbledon
Winner- Novak Djokovic over Semi-Finals :of Jannik Sinner, Felix Auger Aliassime, Nick Kyrgios
On grass and at the level Djokovic is still playing at, I don’t see a challenger yet. In fact I believe he’s as big of a favorite at Wimbledon as Nadal is at the French this season. The 7-time champ is 86-10 at all England and while Alacraz and Rune will continue to be on the ascent, I think this is still Djokovic’s to lose on grass if he’s healthy. I’ve seen nothing to indicate either game are geared toward grass at that point. I would say the same about most of the other top-tier players. In the last few seasons this major as seen deep runs from more unexpected players.
US Open
Winner- Carlos Alcaraz over Semi-Finals: Daniil Medvedev, Novak Djokovic, Casper Ruud
I expect Alcaraz will be rolling by this point. This could be the most fun major of the year. Fans were robbed of a possible Djokovic Alcaraz match-up in a major. I think it is likely to happen in this major if Djokovic is allowed to play. Hopefully that’s not an issue.
