The Australian Open will start Sunday after a long buildup involving positive COVID-19 tests on the planes bringing players to Australia; 14-day quarantines for every internationally arriving player; calls from opposition Australian government leaders to cancel the tournament; the decision to allow 30,000 fans onto the grounds every day; and a positive test from a staff member at the hotel where the players were staying that nearly derailed the tournament at the last minute. A nation that has been praised for its handling of the pandemic (Australia averaged just six new cases per day over the past week) is preparing to host the first major international sports tournament of 2021. It is the first tennis major since the French Open in Paris in October.
THE ESSENTIALS
When: Feb. 7-21
Where: Melbourne, Australia
TV: Opening-round coverage starts at 6 p.m. Sunday on ESPN before switching to ESPN2 at 9 p.m. Live coverage running through the quarterfinals will air nightly on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. with taped replays running the following day at noon. The semifinals and finals will air on ESPN.
Who is missing: Roger Federer, Andy Murray and John Isner are out on the men's side. Kiki Bertens and Madison Keys are absent in the women's draw.
Historical opportunities: Rafael Nadal can win his 21st major, which would break his current tie with Federer and give him the most all-time. Serena Williams holds the Open Era record with 23 majors, but if she wins her 24th, she would tie Margaret Court for the most overall. Nadal and Williams have said they are dealing with injuries.
MEN'S PLAYERS TO WATCH
Dominic Thiem: Is he ready to take over the throne in men's tennis? After reaching the French Open final in 2018 and 2019, where he lost to the never-losing-at-Roland-Garros Nadal, he reached the Australian Open final in 2020 and lost a grueling five-setter to Novak Djokovic. Thiem then won his first major over Alexander Zverev at the U.S. Open, rallying from a two-set deficit to win 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (6).
Novak Djokovic: No player has taken a bigger PR hit over the past 12 months than Djokovic, the defending champion. He hosted tennis exhibitions that did not require masks or social distancing, which led to several positive cases and canceled events. He was defaulted from the U.S. Open in the fourth round after inadvertently hitting a line judge in the throat with a tennis ball. And his complaints about having to quarantine in Australia have not gone over well with the local media. Did we mention he's No. 1 in the world, the No. 1 men's seed, the defending Australian Open champion, an eight-time winner of the event and chasing major No. 18?
