Alexander Zverev had an unpleasant opening draw at the Australian Open. Last year’s finalist will face Canadian Gabriel Diallo, number 41 in the tennis world, in the first round.
It is the first duel between Zverev and Diallo. The Canadian is likely to be one of the strongest opponents Zverev could face in the first round. At 2.03 meters tall, the former college player has a strong serve, similar to his prominent opponent, so Zverev has to be careful with his own service.
After that, the Australian Alexei Popyrin could wait for number three seed Zverev. Zverev was drawn into the half of the tournament with world number one Carlos Alcaraz.
Jannik Sinner would wait until the final at the earliest
The world number three could meet the Spaniard in a possible semi-final. In the lower half of the tournament are defending champion Jannik Sinner from Italy and the Serbian Novak Djokovic. Zverev could only meet them in the final.
But first he has to win his first round game. The match against Diallo will be an important assessment for Zverev – after a disappointing preseason, things should look up again in the spring. “I had problems with my body. I had injuries throughout the season,” said Zverev, who hopes to get through this year with fewer injuries.
There are a total of four German men in the main field: Yannick Hanfmann will meet qualifier Zachary Svajda from the USA and would then play against Alcaraz if the top star prevails against Adam Walton from Australia.
Daniel Altmaier plays against Marin Cilic (Croatia) and Jan-Lennard Struff against Vit Kopriva (Czech Republic). Struff could face a match against Taylor Fritz in round two.