Olympics Tennis Draw: Djokovic, Osaka Headline The Competition
The draws for the 2020 Olympic games have been revealed. The draws were made on Thursday, two days prior to the start of the tennis Olympics, with Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Naomi Osaka of Japan, the host country, headlining the draws.
Naomi Osaka will play her first match in nearly two months at the Olympic games after pulling out of multiple tournaments for mental health reasons. Her opening match will come against Zheng Saisai of China. Osaka is the heavy favorite to win this match as her opponent is ranked 52nd, and Osaka has a 2-1 career edge.
If Osaka does end up winning her first-round match, she will likely see Number 16, Kiki Bertans. Bertans has announced that the Olympic Games will be the last tournament of her career. She has the potential to put up a fight against Osaka, but I still would be confident enough to say that Osaka will beat Bertans to reach the quarter-finals. If she does, Osaka could meet Iga Swiatek in the quarters of the Olympics. Swiatek has seen success in huge tournaments in the past, winning the 2020 French Open Title.
Men’s Draw
Headlining the men’s side of the draw, Novak Djokovic will start his Olympics by playing Number 139, Hugo Dellien of Bolivia. These 2020 Olympics are not just any summer games for Novak, as winning this tournament would keep alive his dream of attaining a golden slam, widely considered the crowning achievement in tennis.
Andy Murray of Britain is not new to the Olympics, as he has won gold at the past two, but he drew a relatively difficult opener. He will begin by facing Felix Auger Aliassime of Canada. Felix has shown that he is part of the top of the future generation, and I would not be too surprised if he defeats Andy Murray.
One of the better first-round matches pits Andrey Rublev of Russia against Kei Nishikori of Japan. Both players are of a high caliber but in my opinion, Rublev is still the favorite to win this match. He has a huge forehand and consistent backhand to stay in control of each point.
Number two seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia will face Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in the first round. Medvedev is the clear favorite here, and I see him going far in this tournament. In fact, I see Medvedev as the number one player of the future generation, and his performance at this year’s Olympics will solidify my prediction.
Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece plays Phillip Kohlschreiber of Germany. This match is not much of a toss-up, and I expect Stefanos to win the match.
Where Are The Rest Of The Big Names?
Half of the players in the top 10 men’s circuit are not competing in Tokyo this year. The draw is missing brand names such as Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, and Roger Federer. On the women’s side, Serena Williams and Simona Halep are out as well.
It will be interesting to see how the future generation players compete against veterans like Djokovic and Murray. The tennis Olympics begin on Saturday at Ariake Tennis Park.
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