The 2025 tennis season traditionally starts with a highlight. Sports show author Andreas Thies answers the most important questions from Melbourne before the start of the Australian Open.
What is the weather like in Melbourne?
The weather is typical for Australia, all four seasons in one day are possible. The first forecasts are for a warm and sunny first week of the tournament. Extreme heat is apparently not expected.
When is the game played? Because of the Time difference you get completely confused…
The tennis days in Melbourne start at 11 a.m. local time, which is 1 a.m. in Germany. The games then last well into the day.
It feels like the last season only ended the day before yesterday, and now there’s another Grand Slam tournament on the other side of the world – are all the batteries recharged yet?
The discussion about the length of the season or the very short break takes place every year. But the professionals live with it and also play lucrative exhibition matches. One can expect that the favorites for both men and women will start well rested.
Defending champion Jannik Sinner went skiing in the mountains with his old friends to relax. Does he pick up where he left off in 2024 with a 79-6 record?
In terms of play, he has the most complete package of all. He has the opportunity to increase his level by a few percent in order to defeat his opponents. It may look a bit cold at times, not as exciting as Carlos Alcaraz’s game, but it’s incredibly successful.
So nothing will happen again for Alexander Zverev?
After all, he is one of the favorites for the title. You can’t blame him for not trying everything. He has changed his serve over the past few years, experimented with a new racket and has now announced that he will pursue a more offensive tactic. He has a positive record against both Alcaraz and Sinner. To win the Australian Open, he will probably have to beat both in a row
Zverev pulled out of the United Cup with a bicep injury, presumably a precautionary measure. Boris Becker said his biggest problem was his head in the crucial moments. What impression does he make?
Judging by the training impressions, a good one. Units with Matteo Berrettini or Arthur Fils show that he can serve normally and his arm shouldn’t limit him. Zverev’s draw is good. He has solvable tasks in the first few rounds and he avoids the big stumbling blocks. If he doesn’t spend too much time on the pitch at the start of the tournament, he will be fresher for the big tasks in the second week.
What does it look like for Struff and the others?
The draw wasn’t too bad for the DTB professionals. Dominik Koepfer, who made his way into the main draw through qualification, will face Jordan Thompson, seeded 27th. Jan-Lennard Struff plays against the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, against whom he has already won twice. Daniel Altmaier and Yannick Hanfmann are slight outsiders in their matches. In the women’s category, Laura Siegemund will face Hailey Baptiste, Tatjana Maria will face Bernarda Pera and Jule Niemeier will face the Pole Maja Chwalinska. All tasks that do not seem unsolvable.
Who can you trust to stay in the tournament the longest besides Zverev?
Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz, who are among the favorites in doubles. The now worn-out phrase “think from round to round” applies to the German individual professionals. If Struff or Koepfer overcome their opening hurdle, they will certainly have a chance of a third round. Anything other than a goal would be presumptuous at the moment.
Who will reach the women’s final against Aryna Sabalenka?
Sabalenka is of course the top favorite. Her main competitors are all in the other half. Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek will take each other out of the tournament. At the moment my tip would be Coco Gauff. She has shown good form in the first few days of the new season, beating Swiatek for the second time in a row and seems to be in the most consistent form. However, Sabalenka is developing a special aura in Australia. Should she win the Australian Open, she would be only the sixth player in the Open Era to do so Grand Slam of the year wins three times.
Who do we have to have on the bill from the second row?
For the men, definitely the Brazilian “prodigy” Joao Fonseca. He won the Next Gen Finals at the end of 2024 and literally walked through the qualifications. In the first round he will face ninth seed Andrej Rublew in a very exciting match. Definitely a stumbling block for the Russian. For the women, my focus is on the young Australian Maya Joint, who actually wanted to play tennis in college since the fall, but has now decided to pursue a professional career.
What’s up with the enfant terrible Nick Kyrgios?
A healthy Nick Kyrgios would be an asset to the tournament. But he’s not fit. He lost his only singles this year against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Since this match was completely serve-fixed, we don’t know what he is capable of in terms of play. Can he survive a best-of-five match? Doubts are appropriate. Kyrgios canceled an exhibition match against Novak Djokovic before the Australian Open because of an abdominal muscle strain. My tip: He doesn’t make it past the first round.
What’s the mood like in Melbourne at the “Happy Slam”?
The Australian summer is a welcome change from the northern hemisphere winter for both the professionals and those who have traveled. In recent years, the organizers have expanded the week in which the qualification is played into an event week. The fans can follow the training sessions of the top players, there are daily show matches in the evenings at a low price and there is also a lot done for the children.
The sports show reports daily from the Australian Open with results, live tickers, game analyses, portraits and interviews. The live rights are held by Eurosport.