Serena Williams and Andy Murray are set to play at the 2018 Australian Open, according to tournament director Craig Tiley. Andy Murray has not played since July because of a hip injury which led him to a quarter-final defeat at Wimbledon. Serena Williams won this year's Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant, but then she took a break and gave birth to her first child in September. Both players lost their positions as number one in the ATP and WTA rankings as a result.
Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, who are also out because of injuries, might make their comebacks at the Australian Open as well. "All the top players will be back in Melbourne," Craig Tiley said. Djokovic suffered an elbow injury at Wimbledon and has not played since, while Wawrinka has not played since the summer due to a knee problem. Kei Nishikori has also been out for some time due to a wrist injury. Rafa Nadal is now the ATP number one thanks to Murray and Djokovic being out of action.
"I can tell you that in talking to Andy, he has been training and he is preparing for having a great year in 2018," Tiley said. "How much would this year have hurt him, to watch over the entire year Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal share four Grand Slam titles - he would not have liked that. As competitive as Andy is, we know he's back and he'll want to improve his current ranking of number three in the world and getting back to number one." As for Serena Williams, she did say that she wanted to defend her Australian Open title in 2018.
Andy Murray is 7/2 at Bet365 to win the Australian Open next year, while Serena Williams is 4/1 to win the women's tournament.
sharpe 6 years ago
Seems like a bunch of top players are on their way back for the Australian open which of course should be a great thing for the sport and of course the fans. I guess Serena would be a favourite in the women's event despite the long absence while nothing is certain in the men's tournament where should be quite tough for...
Seems like a bunch of top players are on their way back for the Australian open which of course should be a great thing for the sport and of course the fans. I guess Serena would be a favourite in the women's event despite the long absence while nothing is certain in the men's tournament where should be quite tough for Murray, Djokovic and Wawrinka with Nadal and Federer on top of their game as it looks at least right now.
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Markotik 6 years ago
I think that both Federer and Nadal used the absence of a few top players in the best possible way. Federer was unbeatable in the first few months of the season, and now Nadal is the player to beat. It would be really fascinating to see all top players in from at AO, 2018. Needless to say how good Djokovic, Murray and...
I think that both Federer and Nadal used the absence of a few top players in the best possible way. Federer was unbeatable in the first few months of the season, and now Nadal is the player to beat. It would be really fascinating to see all top players in from at AO, 2018. Needless to say how good Djokovic, Murray and Wawrinka are at that Slam.
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