With the
conclusion of the first week of competition on the ATP Tour, the seeds for the
Australian Open, scheduled to take place between January 14 and 28, 2024, in
Melbourne, have been confirmed. The list is led by the 10-times Aussie Open
champion
Novak Djokovic and the Spanish player
Carlos Alcaraz.
The main
draw of the first Grand Slam of the year will feature 32 seeds, preventing
matchups between the top-ranked players in the early rounds. The top eight are
ensured not to face any higher-ranked opponents at least until the
quarterfinals, including
Daniil Medvedev,
Jannik Sinner, Andrey Rublev,
Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Holger Rune.
Top
Contenders Secure Favorable Draw Positions
n the
event that the top players successfully navigate their challenges against
lower-ranked opponents, a clash between Alcaraz and Djokovic could only occur
in the final. Similarly, the next two seeds, Medvedev (3rd) and Sinner (4th),
might emerge as opponents only in the semifinals.
The
subsequent eight seeds could potentially face top-8 players only in the
quarterfinals. Among the prominent names are Hubert Hurkacz, Casper Ruud,
Taylor Fritz, and Alex de Minaur, who will make his debut in the top-10 for the
first time in his career after a solid campaign in the United Cup.
The seeds
from 16th to 32nd include players like Frances Tiafoe, Nicolas Jarry, Felix
Auger-Aliassime, and Sebastian Korda, who pose significant threats to the top
seeds starting from the third round.
The cutoff
for the seeds was set at Jiri Lehecka (currently world No. 32), and in the
event of a last-minute withdrawal, the next players on the list are the Serbian
Laslo Djere and the American Jiri Lehecka.
Most of the
32 seeds won't be in competition during the week preceding the Aussie Open,
with the ATP 250 Auckland Open and Auckland Open. Between both tournaments,
only four players from the top-20 will be in action, totaling 12 within the 32
favorites in the first Slam of the year.